Shattered Thrones Original BEING RE-WRITTEN
by squarecircles
Summary: BEING RE-WRITTEN 25 Years ago Lance put himself on the throne. 16 years ago, he put down a rebellion that threatened to topple his empire. Now, the prodigal sons of the rebellion have returned and threaten to plunge the empire back into a bloody war. Realistic AU, rated M for blood and gore. BEING RE-WRITTEN
1. Red's Rebellion

**Arc 1: Crown of Lies**

Two men stood facing each other in the remnants of a throne room. The two glared at each other wordlessly, their actions mirrored by the beasts in between them. The black cloaked man with spiked red hair cracked a grin.

"If you surrender now, I'll let you live out your life as an exile. I might even spare the remnants of your pitiful resistance. That is of course, if any of them are still alive. My betrothed can be very zealous when angered." Screams of pain and sounds of battle echoed into the room, driving home his words.

His opponent said nothing, hidden behind his suit of dark red armor. The massive charizard bellowed a roar and charged the much larger orange dragon. The dragonite bellowed back, catching the charizard's arm in its massive clawed hand.

"So be it. Never let it be said that Lance is not a merciful ruler. Dragonite, end this little game." Lance ordered.

The charizard pushed again, attempting to break free of the larger pokemon's grip. The dragonite gripped tighter, causing an audible crack from the wrist in its grasp. Charizard screamed in pain, unhinged its jaw and belched a stream of fire into the dragonite's scales. Unfazed by the flames, the dragonite ripped into fire drake's side, tearing through scales and muscle. With a terrifying bellow, the dragonite bit down and tore the charizard's arm from its body.

Charizard collapsed, blood streaming out of a massive wound in its side. It let out one last whimper, then went silent. The dragonite let out a triumphant roar, then turned on the red armored trainer. The massive beast stared down at the rebel, awaiting the final order.

"This is your last chance Red. Surrender or die." Lance said almost gleefully.

The man in red armour dropped to his knees, bowing his head. "I surrender." His voice was almost synthetic, clearly modified by some sort of machine. He held out a ball and tapped the button. A red light zapped to the prone charizard. It remained still, not de-materializing into the confines of its ball. Red slipped the ball back onto the holster on his chest.

Lance stepped forward, drawing closer to the man on his knees. "Be thankful that I did not kill you. I will not have it said that I am not a merciful man." Lance circled him, glaring at the red armour. He finally stepped forward, bringing himself face to face. Lance dropped to one knee, resting a hand on the red mask.

Lance pulled on the mask, pulling it off and revealing the man underneath. His raven coloured hair reached down past his shoulders, unkempt and messy. He had a strong jawline, and a crooked nose that had clearly been broken several times.

"I doubt however, that my wife has been as merciful as I have." Lance smiled. "She always was a fiery one." Lance stood up, walking away from Red. He tossed the helmet towards his pokemon, sending it clattering along the ground. The dragonite lifted a foot, crushing the helm underfoot. The glass of the eyepiece shattered, along with Red's resolve.

Lance walked away from the broken man, cloak sweeping behind him. The massive dragonite roared at the kneeling man before turning and following its trainer out of the shattered room. He heard the door open and a familiar voice scream his name. The sounds of a howling arcanine and rampaging nidoking were audible.

"Blue…"

Faint screaming and a high pitched laugh reached his ears. He could hear dragons roaring, answered by less and less pokemon as time passed. His eyes shot open. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a sad wheeze. He shook his head, clearing his throat. He stood up, determination driving him. He attempted to return the charizard to its ball. When it didn't work, he knelt over the beast. He didn't cry, only patting the side of his fallen friend and picked the communicator out of the crushed helmet.

"This is leader Red. Is anybody reading me?" His voice was hoarse and cracking, "If there is anyone left… I failed. Run if you can, I'm going to give you a chance." He dropped the radio, releasing a trio of battered pokemon from their balls. "Perun, Amaterasu, Oceanus… We lost. I need you to light this place up. Bring down the sky."

The pokemon nodded, looking at each other. Red turned away, stepping over to a window. Behind him, the blastoise, pikachu and espeon went to work. Oceanus started a rain dance, forming thunderclouds above the plateau. Perun shot bolts of electricity through the holes in the roof, charging electricity through the atmosphere. Amaterasu held the door in place with her powers, erecting barriers and barring the doors. Another red flash came from Red, bringing out his snorlax.

"Hercules, hold that door." The massive pokemon lumbered over, bracing itself against the doers. Red smiled to himself as he released his last pokemon. "Pan, help Herc." The venasaur roared and shook its vines loose.

Red looked down at the field of battle. A shadowy figure floated down from the ceiling. It hovered over Red's shoulder, watching him intently. Red didn't turn, only staring out the window at the remnants of the rebel army fleeing. At least someone had heard him he thought. At least not everyone had to die.

Finally addressing the ghost, he spoke. "You told me that prophecy knowing that I wasn't the one didn't you?"

The ghost blinked once, then spoke in his mind. "I did not know. I still see it. The prophecy still stands."

Red turned on the ghost, glaring angrily. "You told me that we could win. That Lance was doomed to fall to the Red and Gold banners. You lied to me." The venom in his voice was clear. "I took up the banner of Red. Ethan took up Gold. Now Ethan is dead, I've been beaten and…"

A massive roar and crash from the door told him that Lance was trying to get back in. He couldn't hear the sounds of Blue's pokemon anymore. Screams of pain told him that his friend was still alive, but for how much longer?

Red fell to his knees. "And now Blue is dying. All my friends are dead. Lance has destroyed it all. He's won." He looked up at the ghost. "This is all your fault."

The ghost floated closer, barely even audible over the crashing at the door. "I see it still. The Red sun rising over a broken dragon." A huge crack appeared in the door, followed by a triumphant roar. The ghost looked at the door, then back at the man on his knees. "Your son will do perfectly." It disappeared, sinking into its own shadow and leaving a howling Red behind.

The door blew inwards, knocking Herc and Pan across the room. Amaterasu cried out, wobbling at the blow to the psychic barriers. The dragonite looked almost gleefully at the battered remains of Red's team. A second blow collapsed the barrier, bringing a cry from the collapsing Amaterasu.

The dragonite stepped into the room, glaring at Red. Lance followed him in, smiling and clapping. "You know what Red?" He started. "You've impressed me. I truly thought that tearing off your charizard's arm would have broken you. I'm not usually impressed."

A pain shot through Red at the mention of his pokemon. He would not let this man see him broken. He would fight to the bitter end. "Guys…" He looked at his team. Perun and Oceanus glared at the dragon. The dragonite roared and charged, met by a bolt of lightning arcing from Perun. A blast of water burst out of Oceanus' cannons, driving the dragon back into the wall.

Herc and Pan returned to the battle with a pair of beams that crashed into the dragon, sending it crashing through the wall. A deafening explosion rocked the room, sending Lance stumbling. Red took advantage of the distraction, unsheathing a sword. He charged Lance, roaring obscenity after obscenity. Lance managed to draw his own blade, barely getting it up in time to deflect the blow. He fought back with ferocity, driving Red back.

The angry bellow from the hole in the wall told Red that the dragonite wasn't dead. The entrance of a woman flanked by a pair of dragonair told him that Blue was. He let out a primal scream and charged again. His pokemon mimicked him, charging the dragons. The dragons met them halfway across the room, ripping into Red's team. Red met the two dragon tamers with his blade, all thoughts of his own survival were thrown away in a desperate attempt to finish the battle himself.

A desperate bellow and sickening crack met Red's ears. He turned to see Herc's head being torn from his body by the dragonite. Perun crackled with electricity, bringing down a massive bolt of lightning onto the dragonite. The beast shook it off and let loose with its own bolt of lightning. Perun shook, overloaded by the amount of electricity. The dragonite stopped, then unleashed a beam of energy that wiped the electric mouse from existence.

Red screamed for his pokemon, watching Herc's headless body topple over. The rest of my the battle was unfolding in a similar way. Oceanus was barely able to move, constricted by the dragonair wrapped around his body. Pan was attempting to fend off the other dragonair, his vines singed with fire. The dragonair reared up one final time and launched a stream of fire into the flower on Pan's back. Red had never heard a sound as terrible as the screaming venasaur. Amaterasu hadn't moved since she had collapsed.

His loyal espeon struggled to its feet, still wobbly. Even as all the might of the dragonlords bore down upon it, the energy in the atmosphere exploded. The sun pokemon ignited in a final desperate attack, that tore the room to pieces. Waves of energy surged over Red, blowing him backwards and disorienting him.

Red struggled to his knees while he moaned, low and sad, watching his pokemon slowly die. Suddenly there was a hand on the back of his head. He felt the cold touch of a blade on his neck. He watched the dragonair snap Oceanus' neck, saw the ghost look at him out of the shadows. Then he felt the blade move, and there was nothing at all.

 **Sixteen Years Later**

Pallet Town sat inside the small stockade that backed onto the water. Several small, low houses and a larger rectangular building were visible over the top of the wooden stockade. Two boys sat underneath a tree, hiding from the setting sun that baked everything in a yellow glow.

"You know we aren't supposed to be out here Ash." The taller of the two boys complained. He shook his shaggy brown mop of hair out of his eyes, revealing a pair of deep brown eyes and a scraggly mess of facial hair.

Ash Ketchum cracked a massive grin. "Calm down Jay, there's nothing else to do around here anyways. Would you rather be back in the lab watching the professor preform the same experiment a hundred times?"

Jay frowned. "I'm just frustrated with how little you care about the rules. Wild pokemon are called that for a reason. If anything bigger than a rattata shows up, it might be more than we can handle." His expression softened then he laughed. "You might have a point though. The old man's been stuck on the same problem for two months."

Ash stood up, yawning and stretching his back. "Ok mom. Even you have to admit that it's boring here. At least the threat of instant death makes it slightly interesting. I'd be able to take you a little more seriously if we weren't out here for several hours every day. We've never seen anything we couldn't handle around here. Face facts, there aren't any really dangerous pokemon around here."

Jay shook his head, before speaking. "None that you've seen at least. Rattata can be dangerous enough though. Find one that's hungry enough and it'll definitely try to rip your throat out." He stood up, whistling into the field of grass that flanked each side of the road. "We do need to head back now. I for one don't want to be out here after dark."

The grass started rustling, something moving quickly towards the two. A Growlithe poked its head through the edge of the grass, panting heavily. At the same time, a Pikachu dropped out of the tree beside them and onto Ash's head. Ash scratched the mouse on his head and turned to head back to the settlement. Jay whistled again, then started after Ash, jogging to catch up to him.

"You know," Ash started "I wouldn't mind hitching a ride on the next supply convoy to get out of here. It could take us to Viridian then we could find a job and make some money. Find a few friends, have a bit of fun. Actually live a half decent life instead of scrabbling around in the dirt here forever."

Jay shot him a look. "Don't let our mums hear you talking like that. They'll just go on forever about how Pallet is out of sight and not usually noticed by the Empire's tax collectors. How we would hate the hustle and bustle of the city. Most of all, they'd remind us about the time we found that burned out convoy just north of here. No, its best if we just keep our heads down, and work with the professor all day."

Ash laughed. "You're starting to sound like our mothers right there. Constantly worried sick that we're getting attacked by something. I know the wilds are dangerous, but we do have our own pokemon. Plus, whatever convoy we hopped on would have its own guards too. I'm sick of..." Jay trailed off. He turned around and whistled again.

Ash stopped, tensing up. "Where's growlithe?"

Jay's expression hardened. He whistled again, louder than before, then called out for growlithe. "Growlithe, come."

The two listened intently, watching for any sign of Jay's pokemon. Ash motioned to Pikachu silently. The mouse jumped off Ash's shoulder and bounded off into the brush. Ash and Jay followed silently, scanning the brush.

"I see a small clearing in the grass up ahead; just before the trees over there. Can't be sure but it looks like there might be something there." Jay whispered. "I don't see anything red though."

Ash put his hand on Jay's shoulder "Growlithe is fine. The damn thing nearly ripped Gary's throat out when he swung at you that one time. He's the toughest little pokemon I've ever met."

Jay mustered a small smile. "I'd be more encouraged if you'd met any pokemon outside of Pallet."

A high pitched bark and a blast of electricity broke the silence. The boys didn't hesitate, sprinting towards the clearing. What they saw startled them. Two bodies lay slumped over each other, clearly having been locked in a mortal struggle that both had lost. A battered scyther lay on the edge of the clearing, clinging to life. The bodies were still fresh, not even starting to smell yet. Growlithe and pikachu were facing down a pair of rattata with ease.

Pikachu let loose another bolt of electricity, sending thousands of volts through its body and into the rattata. The pokemon convulsed violently, coursing with electricity. It dropped to the ground, blood leaking from its eyes.

Growlithe leapt on top of the other rattata, knocking it onto its side and ripping into the pokemon. Blood splattered all over the fiery dog. The rattata shook, attempting to buck growlithe off it. That only seemed to spur growlithe on further. The pokemon opened its mouth, spitting fire into the rattata's open side. The rattata screamed a high pitched wail, before fading entirely and only leaving a smell of burning flesh.

Ash muttered under his breath "What the hell happened here?" He turned to Jay, motioning to one of the bodies. "This one is wearing ranger fatigues. He's got an Indigo badge too. Jay, if there's a dead ranger here then the Empire is going to come looking for him."

Jay ignored Ash, pulling the bodies apart. "The other one looks too professional to be any sort of raider. He's got body armor, combat boots, and his jacket looks too much like a uniform for him to be working alone." Jay poked into the man's pockets. "Well look at what we have here." He pulled out a pin emblazoned with a red and gold sun side by side. "Now I know that this guy isn't just a raider." He handed the pin to Ash. "Recognize anything?"

Ash took the pin, turning it over in his hands. "It looks like the insignia of the old rebellion, but this one isn't old. It looks like it's in too good condition to be fifteen years old though. I thought Lance wiped out the rebels completely."

Jay grimaced. "Nobody tell him that he missed one." Jay pulled the only pokeball on the rebel's belt off and pressed the button. The light flashed from it, returning the scyther on the edge of the clearing to the ball. "No point in letting it just die here. Maybe Oak can help it."

Ash nodded back, still staring at the rebel. He wasn't much older than the two of them, but he looked like he had been fighting for years. Scars covered his face and neck. Ash stood up, putting the boy out of his mind. "Let's get back now. We don't want to be here when another ranger comes looking for his friend." The two boys turned back towards the road. What they saw froze them to the spot.

An alakazam stood in front of them, bleeding from several gashes and barely able to stand. It glanced at them, then the bodies in the clearing behind them. It's eyes lit up without warning, a wave of psychic energy blasting Jay and Ash off their feet. It stumbled forward, then managed to levitate itself off the ground.

Growlithe and pikachu leapt into action, not waiting for orders. Growlithe was hanging on to the alakazam's leg, jaws clamped down and carrying the dog for the ride. Pikachu couldn't fire off any of its electric attacks without hitting growlithe at the same time. Realizing this, the alakazam tore the fiery dog free of its leg, ripping out a chunk of flesh at the same time. It threw growlithe into pikachu, knocking the pair into the underbrush in a tangle of limbs.

Jay's fist hammered into the alakazam from behind, driving it out of the air and into the dirt. It retaliated instantly, throwing Jay across the grassy plain with its mind. Ash rounded on the psychic too, not daring to dart in for an attack on his own. Growlithe burst out of the underbrush, providing Ash with the distraction he needed. He hefted a rock and brought it down on the psychic's head, cracking it open and spilling brain matter out onto the ground. Ash immediately bent over the ruined corpse of the pokemon and vomited the remains of his lunch.

Jay stood up, recovering from his several meter long flight. "Ash…" He started. Then he saw the body of the alakazam, and the rock that was laying where the pokemon's head should be. "Fuck. Let's get you back to the professor. I've got a feeling that we're in deep shit.

* * *

 _Thank you everyone for reading the first chapter of this story. It's the beginning of a long and perilous journey. I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Have fun everyone!_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon and this is only a work inspired by the love I have for this great series._


	2. Revelations

"I'm out gramps. Mum said she was making dinner for the both of us tonight. Make sure you actually remember to come home this time." Gary Oak stood up, yawning. "Hopefully tomorrow the twin idiots actually show up to help."

The elder Oak simply smiled and laughed. "They're boys; I know they aren't going to show up most of the time. They want to explore, and I can hardly blame them." The professor joined his grandson, following him towards the door of his lab. "I'm very surprised that you aren't out there with them every day. You're young, have your adventures while you can."

Gary frowned before opening his mouth to speak. Before the words could leave his mouth the door to the lab swung open violently, narrowly missing him. Ash and Jay barrelled into the lab, knocking Gary flat on his ass.

"Oh shit Gary, didn't see you there." Jay mumbled as Ash pulled Gary to his feet. Jay looked straight at the professor, his tone serious. "We found a severely injured pokemon just north of town. It looks like it's trainer was killed by a ranger."

Ash pulled the pin out of his pocket and handed it to the professor. "The trainer had this on his jacket." Oak took the pin and the pokeball, hurrying off to the back of the lab where he kept his medical supplies.

"What kind of pokemon is it? What kind of injuries did it have?" Oak shot off the questions while pulling what little first aid equipment he had on hand. Not even waiting for a response, he shot off another round of orders. "Get it out on the table. Keep it sedated."

Jay piped up nervously. "It's a scyther. Still awake, with a battered exoskeleton. Looked like it was completely broken in places. One of its legs looked like it was barely attached to the body."

Oak shot him a look. "Do we know what inflicted these injuries? That'd go a long way towards healing it." Jay hesitated before pulling the ball out of his pocket. "We were attacked by an alakazam. If I had to guess, it was the ranger's partner."

Oak's face was a mask of determination. "Damnit!" Oak swore loudly. "Psychic attacks cause both physical and mental damage. Be careful, we don't know what state the scyther will be in."

There was only one problem with releasing the scyther from the ball. It was still awake. It immediately started thrashing, attempting to escape from the clutches of the two boys attempting to hold it down. The blades on its arms swung wildly, slicing through the air mere inches from Ash's face.

Oak turned towards the table, filling a syringe with a clear liquid. "Grab its arms. Right where the shoulder connects to the blade. Hold them still." Oak waited a moment as the boys scrambled to secure the pokemon. He then lifted the scyther's head and poked the needle through the thin exoskeleton. Within moments the bug's writhing had slowed and its breathing had calmed. The professor took a deep breath and sighed.

"I know that there are important matters for us to discuss. If the alakazam belonged to the ranger, then we are in grave danger. However, the rebellion and Lance can wait a day." Oak turned back to the surgical tools, still speaking. "I should be finished the operation by sunrise. All of you need to go home and rest. Pack up what supplies you can and get your families ready to leave. Leave everything non-essential." He frowned, raising his voice at the boy's protests. "I won't hear another word. This pokemon needs me at my best if it is to survive the night. All of you need to go home and gather your supplies. I will tell you everything you want to know in the morning."

The three boys saw the futility of arguing with Oak. When the professor set his mind on something it was impossible to dissuade him. They looked at each other, Oak already immersed in his work, and walked out of the lab silently. The door slammed shut behind them.

Gary looked at the two, anger clear on his face. "Are you two fucking kidding me? We spend hours upon hours talking about how we have to keep our heads down and keep out of the Empire's way, and somehow you two manage to find a dead ranger right on our doorstep. Not only that, but it had a psychic partner and you two killed it. I swear you guys have the opposite of a four leaf clover up your asses."

Jay smirked, "You're exaggerating. We aren't that unlucky."

Gary rounded on him, not enjoying the joke. "Every fucking time you leave town something happens. Sometimes it's a minor thing, like letting a rattata follow you back to our food supply. Then there's times like this where you threaten all of us. This is worse than the time you two managed to draw every spearow from here to Viridian City towards us. At least then we didn't have to uproot our entire lives and leave." Not even waiting for a response, he stormed off in the direction of his house.

Jay opened his mouth to shoot a response back but was stopped by a stern look from Ash.

"Don't do it. It'll just piss him off. He's just upset that his whole life just got flipped upside down." Ash said. "Just go home Jay. Go get yourself ready. Like the professor said, we're leaving in the morning."

Jay said nothing. He shook his head and stormed off in the direction of the houses. Ash followed him, leaving the professor in the lab behind.

* * *

The old, beat up looking truck shook as it travelled down the rough road. The three women sat under the cover in the back, hiding from the boiling sun. Oak sat at the wheel, staring off into the distance. The three boys sat in the cab with the professor, exchanging quick glances and whispers. They'd been on the road since dawn and the professor had refused to answer any questions, simply telling them to wait until they were under cover. Not one of them had dared to ask him the fate of the scyther, they'd seen the professor after failed operations before.

They simply drove in silence, only breaking silence when Ash's mother came up to the cab to pass out food. "The last of our pidgey breast. We're gonna need to stop to hunt for food soon Samuel." She said as she passed out the food.

Oak nodded, shaken back into reality by Delia Ketchum's arrival. "Thank you Delia. I'll have the boys do that when we stop next." He brought the truck to a standstill. "How's Daisy doing?"

Delia's almost perpetual smile faded. "Not good. She still isn't talking, just crying every now and then. Looks like she's still in shock." She shook her head and sighed. "Gary she is your sister. You're all she has left. Please try to snap her out of it. She won't even eat or drink. If we keep going like this she won't make it to Viridian."

Gary held his head in his hands. "I'll try Ma'am. She'll pull through." Gary smiled back weakly.

Delia smiled back, satisfied with Gary's answer and went back to sit with Jay's mother. The three returned to their conversation about how Pallet's farm had been doing.

Gary looked back at the three, watching them talk as if nothing was wrong. He turned back to face the front and sighed. "I wonder how they do it. We're leaving our home to go flee from an evil empire and they're chatting about how this year's harvest was compared to last year's." He sunk into his seat. "Ignorance is bliss I guess." He said, glaring at his grandfather.

"Ignorance ain't bliss for me." Jay finally piped up. "Professor, you told us that you'd answer any questions we had. We've been driving all damn day and you haven't answered a thing. We all can see you're frustrated. Mew knows the rest of us are." Jay smashed his fist against the side of the truck. "We need to know what happened professor. You need to tell us everything. If you think that we're going to just uproot everything without telling us why then you've got another thing coming old man."

Ash nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't have put it so harshly but I agree with Jay."He said.

The elderly professor swallowed hard, then spoke. "It was a terrible time. People were disappearing, just vanishing from their homes. Protesters were slaughtered in droves. Any sort of resistance was met with brutality. Empress Agatha…"

"She was the last ghost queen right?" Ash interrupted.

"Yes, she was the last of her line. And she was desperate to hang on to whatever power she could." Oak continued. "The rest of her family was killed in the destruction of Lavender City. As far as anyone can tell, they were slaughtered by spirits they were attempting to subdue. So when the call for increased autonomy came from the Lord Flint of Pewter she cracked down, hard. He was taken hostage, along with the Lady of Pewter. When other lords expressed their outrage they were taken prisoner as well. It was a dark time. People needed a hero to believe in."

Gary raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to guess that this is where Lance comes in? Playing the part of the revolutionary hero?" He asked.

Oak smiled. "Got it in one my boy. His betrothed rallied the Johtans while he smuggled himself into Kanto alongside a squadron of elite trainers. They beat back the Empire's forces at every turn. All of Kanto looked up to him. Finally, they assaulted the Indigo Plateau. The Empress' remaining forces were swept away by Lance's dragons and he declared himself Emperor, The Elites were formed out of the squadron of trainers Lance brought with him. For a time, everyone was happy with Lance's rule."

"And that's where Red's rebellion started?" Ash asked.

"Wrong," Oak answered. "People tried peaceful protests first. It ended even worse than it had when Agatha was in power. Lance attacked Cinnabar Island during a peace march. He hit the dormant volcano and caused it to erupt. 3 million people lived on Cinnabar. Every single one of them rose in defiance of his rule. It was a short, bloody war that resulted in the Empire being pushed off the island. So far, the Cinnabareans are the only ones who've managed to hold their own against Lance." Oak sighed, bringing the truck to a halt. "After that, the Empire looked vulnerable for the first time. Two people had the balls to stand up to Lance. A man only known as Red emerged from the Viridian area, rallying the oppressed under his banner. In Johto, the hero named Gold led the resistance."

Jay nodded, satisfied with Oak's story. "And Lance crushed the Johtans in the battle of Blackthorn. Then to ensure that Kanto and Johto could never rally against him, he collapsed the tunnels under the silver mountains and severed the rail lines that travelled between them. When Red finally reached the Indigo Plateau, his army was depleted and demoralized. Without support from the west, the rebels were crushed and scattered to the wind."

Oak smiled. "It looks like someone listens to my history lectures." He brought the truck to a halt. "That is the gist of it. We swapped one tyrant for another." Oak sighed. "It can't be helped. Right now we must focus on finding food. Gary, go tend to your sister. You two, take Blaze and find us something to eat."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Before we do that, I have two more question." When Oak nodded for him to continue he did. "Where do you fit into all this? And where do we? You never actually told us why we had to leave so badly."

Oak's smile faded. "The two questions I hoped not to answer… I suppose a promise is a promise." He cleared his throat and continued. "I was one of Lance's lieutenants. I fought for him, bled for him, watched friends die for him. Then I betrayed him when I saw what he really was."

The boys sat in silence, stunned by the revelation.

"As for why we had to leave… Lance does not know that I am alive and that Ash and Gary exist. That alakazam no doubt got a message out before you killed it. Your remarkable resemblance to two of the greatest threats to Lance's reign will have been noted." The professor stated, almost matter of factly. "You two are the sons of Red and Blue. You are the legacy of the rebellion. My job was to keep you safe until you were ready to take up the mantle of your fathers. For the sake of everyone in Kanto, I hope you're ready."

* * *

 _Well thanks everyone for reading the first chapter. I'm so sorry that this took so long to get up (I went without internet for a month), but on a side note I do have a few chapters stockpiled so it shouldn't be another month long wait for the next one. Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoys it!_


	3. Damsel in Distress

The charizard dropped like a missile, its wings folded back and laws extended. It landed on the raticate, killing it almost instantly. A quick twist of the neck and the raticate was gone. Blaze the charizard let out a triumphant roar, scaring off the small horde of rattatta that surrounded the raticate. Two boys emerged from the brush, followed by a pikachu and growlithe. Each of the boys bore a look of extreme satisfaction on their faces. The pikachu let out a happy cry and leapt onto Ash's shoulder.

One of pulled out a dripping burlap sack. "A full bag of pidgey and that… Ash I think we're good for a few weeks with food aren't we?"

Ash smiled, scratching his pikachu behind its ears. "If Blaze is this good at hunting, then maybe we should sell some when we get to Viridian. It could be a good way to get some supplies."

"I'd say pikachu and growlithe helped plenty as well." Growlithe barked happily at the praise from its master. "Get out Blaze's harness. We'll have to strap the raticate to him to carry back." Jay looked around at the edges of the small clearing while Ash worked with the straps on Blaze's harness. Easily twenty rattatta were gathered in the grass around them.

"It helps if you don't pay attention to them." Ash said. "They're just hungry and know we have food."

Jay gulped, then moved to help Ash with the harness. Together they had the raticate strapped to Oak's charizard within minutes. Blaze snorted smoke at them when they finished, then leapt into the air, haphazardly flapping towards the truck. The two boys and their pokemon set off to follow it.

Two days later, they reached Viridian City. Or more accurately, they came within eyesight of it. The truck was stopped on the side of the dirt road. Professor Oak had declared that driving into town would bring too much attention to themselves, so he had sent Ash and Jay into town to sell the extra meat they had hunted. Gary was sent to watch the road to Indigo for any ranger movement.

Several hours later the boys returned to the truck, bags full of medical supplies and several dozen pokeballs. Gary handed Blaze's ball back to his grandfather. A pidgeotto fluttered to the ground beside him. It glared at the other boys, eyes hard.

Jay raised an eyebrow. "You caught a pidgeotto?" He asked.

Gary shook his head. "Not really. He kicked Sergei's ass so I just gave him a few of my extra sugar cubes to stop him from eating me. Hasn't stopped following me since." He took one of the pokeballs out of Jay's bag. He turned back to the bird. "Want to come with me do ya?" The bird didn't nod, only cocking its head. "I'll take that as a yes." He held out the ball, tapping the button to the bird's head.

The two boys looked at him. "That little bird kicked the ass of Sergei? That little wartortle is the toughest ball anger I've ever seen." Jay stated flatly.

"Either they don't know about the dead ranger or they've already dispatched someone to investigate." Gary said, turning towards his grandfather. "Were there always guards blocking off the Victory Road? They're stopping people and asking for the Pewter gym badge."

Oak shook his head, "Lance must be getting paranoid. It's probably a way to keep the common folk away. Won't matter, we're not going that way."

Ash and Jay dropped their bags, dumping out the medical supplies into the truck. Delia pulled a zombie-like Daisy Oak over to the supplies to sort through them.

"We would have gotten more," Started Jay. "But there were some weird people by the market. Every time we tried to sell some meat, they'd chase them off and threaten us until we sold at a ridiculously low price."

"They were dressed weird." Ash added. "All back with a big red R on the chest. Looked like some kind of uniform."

Oak glanced over at the two before pulling the boys close. "Listen boys, we're drawing a lot of attention. Already had about a dozen people stop and ask what we were doing today, and this isn't what anyone would call a heavily populated area. Barely twenty thousand people live in the Viridian area. Up that to thirty thousand in the Pewter area and over a hundred thousand around Cerulean and there's no way for us to move without being noticed." Oak's voice was barely above a whisper.

"What are you suggesting then professor?" Asked Gary.

Oak sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this." He wore a sullen look on his face. "We ditch the truck and split up. I take the girls and you three go on ahead. We'll meet up again in Pewter City. If my name still means anything I can get Lord Flint to take us in."

Gary shifted, discomfort showing on his face. "I don't like it gramps. We shouldn't be splitting up. Viridian Forest is dangerous enough, and the rangers will be on our trail soon enough."

Oak shook his head. "I trust your pokemon are strong enough to guide you through the forest. As for the rangers, we'll have a better chance of getting away if we're in two groups. It'll make us harder to track."

Ash and Jay stood there silently, knowing that the professor wouldn't be changing his mind anytime soon. Gary continued, arguing on about how it would be better to travel in one group using the cover of night to mask their travel.

"Enough!" Bellowed the professor. "I will hear no more of this. You three will gather your supplies and go to Pewter City. If we do not arrive within a week then you will do whatever you must to earn Flint's badge. Once you have done that go to Cerulean City. Give Lady Kasumi Pewter's badge and ask to be taken to Bill. He is my last contact within the resistance. He will shelter you until I arrive." Oak turned to leave, attempting to climb back into the truck. He clambered into the cab, muttering to himself, then promptly slammed the door.

* * *

Jay looked at Ash, then to Gary. "Well…" He started. "I guess we'd better get moving. Pewter isn't getting any closer." He walked over to the truck and started stuffing his bag with supplies.

Ash followed the taller boy, not even sparing a glance for Gary. Oak's grandson sighed, ruffled his hair and reluctantly followedthe other boys.

The three boys walked along the road, having left Viridian behind. They had been accosted by an old man who was raving about the monsters to the north. So far, they'd not met anything that their Pokemon couldn't handle.

"What the hell was that guy going on about?" Gary asked. "So far, it's been nothing but pidgey and rattata out here. Nothing I would call a monster."

Jay shrugged. "He must've been scared of pokemon. Probably didn't have any of his own."

Gary said nothing, only nodding in agreement.

Ash sighed heavily. "We should reach the forest before nightfall. I don't know about you two, but it'll take us a few days to get through the forest. I don't want to be in there too long."

Jay laughed. "Scared of a few bugs Ash?" He pulled growlithe's ball off his belt and started tossing it up into the air and catching it. "I've got a fire type, and bugs don't exactly like electricity very much either. Plus, Gary caught that pidgeotto and they eat bugs. We'll be fine."

A scream of terror and roar of anger interrupted the conversation. Jay immediately released his pokemon, Gary following suit. Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder, joining the wartortle and growlithe. All three boys tensed up, their pokemon mimicking their actions as the roars of anger growing closer. A girl with bright red hair came sprinting out of the brush on the side of the road, not even pausing to give the boys a glance. A pair of nidorino burst out of the brush, followed by a pair of nidorina.

The wild pokemon paused, watching the girl take cover behind the boys. The lead nidorino pawed the ground once, then snorted and charged.

All three boys shouted orders simultaneously, sending their pokemon into action. The girl released a pokemon, sending a starmie out to aid the boys.

Growlithe took on the lead nidorino, barking out balls of fire and dodging jabs from the pokemon's horn.

"The Nido line have highly potent poison, try to keep your pokemon away from them." The girl called out to the three.

They didn't respond, too focused on the battle that was turning against them rapidly. Even with the addition of the girl's starmie, the wild pokemon were proving to be more than they could handle.

Pikachu was dodging every attack the nidorino was attempting, but there had already been several close calls. Pikachu jumped up, sending a shock through the nidorino. The nidorino turned, attempting to ram its horn through the electric mouse. Pikachu dodged it a second time, sending another bolt of electricity into the wild pokemon. The nidorino turned, continuing the deadly dance.

Growlithe was fairing better than the mouse. It's fire was proving to be more effective at fending off the nidorino than pikachu's electricity. Every time the pokemon charged, growlithe would spit fire at the ground, superheating it and stopping the charge. Effective as it was at defending against the nidorino, it did very little in the way of damaging it.

Jay thought up a strategy, knowing that they needed to end the battle before one of the pokemon managed to land a hit with their horn. "Growlithe, hit the nidorino that pikachu is attacking, when pikachu hits it with electricity, hit the same spot with your fire." Jay ordered, hoping it would be enough to take down the pokemon.

Growlithe spat a stream of fire, superheating the ground before the charging nidorino. It turned and charged the nidorino battling with pikachu, leaping in and spitting a ball of flame to distract it. The nidorino turned, and immediately was met with a focused bolt of electricity, dropping it to the ground. Growlithe leapt on top of it, attempting to melt through the leathery hide and cause some real damage. The nidorino thrashed violently, trying to buck the fire type off. Pikachu shocked it again, aiming for the eyes. The nidorino shook once then stopped.

Jay tossed a ball at it, capturing the pokemon with a flash of red light. He pocketed the ball and turned to see the girl's starmie pick up a nidorina and tossing into the other, its central gem glowing. Sergei blasted both of them with jets of water, bringing red welts to the pokemon's skin. The remaining nidorino saw that it was outmatched with three new pokemon facing off against it. It turned and ran back into the bush, fleeing the battle. Gary tossed a ball at one of the prone nidorina, capturing the pokemon with ease.

All was silent for a moment. Jay broke the silence with a smile. "I'm guessing these are gonna need more than a few sugar cubes before they're tame." That brought a smile to Gary's face before the awkwardness of having a stranger there took over.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. His pikachu leapt onto his shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. He turned to the girl and took a better look at her.

She was wearing a set of tattered old military fatigues that covered a much newer looking vest of body armour. Her bright orange hair was cut short, barely even reaching past her neck. She wore a hard look on her face, clearly not trusting the boys.

"My name is…" Ash started.

"Can it." She said. "Just keep moving. We never met and if anyone asks, you never saw a girl with orange hair." She said in a cold, emotionless tone. "You don't look like Rockets, but you can never be too sure."

"Team Rocket?" Gary asked. "Wasn't that what those weird guys in the market called themselves?"

The girl tensed up "All black uniforms with a big red R on the chest?" She asked.

Ash and Jay nodded. "Viridian is crawling with them." Jay said. "Who are they?"

"They pose as a charity most of the time. In reality they're a criminal syndicate, with a real hard on for control. If they're openly wearing uniforms in Viridian, then it's not safe there. They keep the order and pay taxes, so Lance couldn't care less about the people or pokemon they oppress." She turned, looking down the road to Viridian. "I would be the Lady of Cerulean city right now if it wasn't for them."

"Wait," Ash started excitedly. "Are you Lady Kasumi?" He asked.

She froze, and for a second looked like she might both punch Ash and burst into tears. She gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat. "Lady Kasumi is dead. She was killed two weeks ago in a Rocket ambush."

Gary put his hand to his head, rubbing his temples. "Fuck, now what are we going to do? It's not like we can find Bill without her." Gary's voice rose, the frustration clear in his tone.

A swift smack from Ash shut him up. "Her mother died, pick a better time." He whispered to the taller boy.

"You don't need to coddle me." The girl said. "I've been training my whole life to deal with the moment she died, so I'm prepared." Her voice was hard, cold and almost steely. "My mother chose me as her heir. I am Misty Cerulean, and I should be the Lady of Cerulean." She had almost a mischievous look on her face. "If you're trying to get to Bill, then I think that we can help each other."

* * *

 _The introduction of Misty. Hope everyone enjoyed it! On a side note, I think the schedule should be every Thursday, but I'm really impatient so expect me to put these up early sometimes. Thanks everyone, please leave a review! It makes it all worthwhile to know people are enjoying the story._


	4. Mission Impossible

_A/N: Just as a warning, I feel the need to warn you that there are mature themes and events in this story. So far it's been nothing too serious, but this chapter is where things are going to start getting a lot darker I apologize if it offends anyone, just don't tell me that you haven't been warned._

As far as environments go, Viridian Forest is one of the most treacherous. An extremely thick canopy of leaves, plus the webs and nests of countless bug types made it so that sunlight rarely ever reached the ground. Temperatures on the floor of the forest regularly dropped to freezing temperatures, leaving any ground travel a risk at best. At worst, traveling through the forest on foot could be considered suicide.

That is how Misty would have described the journey through the forest. She had purposely skirted around the forest, taking the long road around to avoid getting stuck in the middle of it. Now she found herself huddled around a fire with three boys who barely understood the danger and severity of the situation. She glanced at the boy scratching the growlithe behind the ears. He was wearing a smile and attempting to make jokes to the other two. The brown haired boy didn't look impressed, glaring at the other two in between jokes. The boy with the pikachu was clearly enjoying the journey, smiling and laughing at the jokes. She hadn't bothered to pay attention to their names. As soon as they got her into Pewter it wouldn't matter anyways. She would point them at Bill and send them on their way.

After yet another joke about bug pokemon, she stood up and snapped. "How about we actually make a plan to get into the city?" Her voice was fiery, drawing awkward glares from the boys. "When I came out of the caves under Mount Moon, Pewter City was under siege. The roads to the city were blocked by Rockets. I tried to get into the city, but the closest I could get was barely within eyeshot. Pewter City looked bad enough then. That was last week." The awkward stares were gone, replaced by much more serious stares.

"How do we even know if Pewter is still standing?" Gary asked. "If it looked bad last week then what chance do we have?"

"On top of that" Ash added "Why is Team Rocket even attacking Pewter? From what you've told us they're an underground organization, not an army."

Misty shook her head. "They used to be. They always were annoying. As far as I can tell, a few months ago they moved away from petty crime and into full fledged paramilitaries. My mother and I shut down some sort of facility south of Cerulean last month. We found a whole armoury full of weapons and pokemon. Some rare ones, and all of them clearly mistreated." Misty hung her head. "My mother thought that they would leave Cerulean alone after that. We did shut down what seemed like a major facility. We must have just pissed them off though." She raised her head. "As to why they're attacking Pewter, it should be clear. The Takeshi family is an old and proud family. They're stubborn and unmoving. Team Rocket likely sees them as a threat to any operations in Viridian and Cerulean."

Ash shook his head. "So they control two cities for sure, maybe a third one by now. How the hell are we supposed to stop them?"

Misty smiled, chuckling. "That's cute, you think this problem is small. As far as I can tell, they control 5 cities right now. Fuchsia, Vermillion, Saffron, Viridian, Cerulean, and possibly Pewter as well." She smirked at the shocked looks on their faces. "Fuchsia City has been under Rocket control for years, ever since Lord Koga up and followed Lance into hell. Vermillion's new ruler is a Rocket executive, he took over in a coup last year. Three months ago, a bunch of Rocket troops moved into Saffron. The city has been cut off from the world since then. The last I heard from Lady Erika was that Rocket troops were starting to probe Celadon's defences. I didn't even know about Viridian being under control, so it had to have been recently. That makes Pewter one of the last free cities in Kanto. I have to get inside the city. I need the Takeshi army to take back my home." Her voice rose to a peak, emotion swelling inside her.

Gary scratched his head. "So how do you suggest we get inside Pewter? Four people and a few pokemon against a besieging army, I apologize but our chances aren't that great. Especially when you consider that two of our pokemon barely listen to us and we'll have no help until we're already inside the city."

Jay spoke up with a smile. "I have an idea." He turned to look at Misty. "You said that Rocket troopers aren't a match for any of us. What if we used you as bait to lure a few troops away from the gates? One of us sneaks inside, and we get whatever army is stationed inside the city to hit the Rockets when their backs are turned."

Misty didn't answer for a moment, deep in thought. "I don't know, what if the army can't get to us in time. We don't know how many Rockets are actually here. Furthermore, there's probably a Rocket agent or two here to command the siege. I don't like our odds against an agent even if the numbers are equal, which they are not. No, there's got to be a way into the city. Maybe a hidden tunnel or a hidden gate."

Gary piped up. "Gramps once told me that Pewter is built over a massive cave network. Apparently the city was built as a mining town over some mineral deposit. I'd bet that there's an entrance to those caves outside the walls."

Jay smiled. "I never thought the random crap that the professor taught us would come in handy. At least one of us listened." He turned his head to look back at Misty. "Better plan than dangling you in front of their noses?" He asked.

She nodded in agreement. "A much better plan." She stood up, stretching her back. "You two had better get those Nidos to listen to you. We're gonna need everything if this is gonna work." She pulled her bedroll out of her bag and set it out.

Jay and Gary looked at each other. "Guess we'd better get started. How many sugar cubes do we have left?" Jay asked. The two set off, attempting to train their new pokemon.

Ash simply leaned back against a tree, allowing pikachu onto his lap. They dozed off, Ash scratching his pokemon behind the ears.

* * *

Two days later they were ready to make their move. They had emerged from the forest and camped on the fringe of the trees to stay hidden. From the top of the closest hill they could tell that Pewter was still alive and fighting. The northern side of the city was glowing with the lights of dozens of small fire. As well, parts of the western half of the city were giving off plumes of thick black smoke. Some quick reconnaissance by Sawyer, Gary's pidgeotto, revealed that the Rockets were mostly concerned with the North and Eastern gates. There wasn't more than a dozen Rockets guarding the road south.

"It's still a dozen more than I'd like to face." Misty was face down on top of the hill, eyeing the city and the smoke above it. "The entrance to the caves is probably hidden. Get your pokemon searching." She ordered before turning back to watch the roadblock.

The three boys returned to the bottom of the hill and released their pokemon with flashes of red light. The Nidos came out with angry snorts, but upon seeing their masters they settled down. Pikachu leapt down off Ash's shoulder and joined the rest of the pokemon.

Ash took charge, issuing orders to all the pokemon. They bounded off into the grass to search for an entrance into the caves. Ash turned to Jay and Gary, looking up at the girl laying in the grass. "I don't like her. She's clearly just using us for Pewter's army." He said.

"Just like we're using her to get to Bill." Stated Gary. "This goes both ways. We don't have to like her, we just need to tolerate her until we get to Cerulean."

Jay turned away, walking back to their camp in the trees. "Just come get me if you guys find the caves." He called back.

* * *

It took until a few hours after sundown that night. Pikachu came back chittering and squeaking madly until Ash followed his pokemon to a hole in the ground that was less than a foot wide at any point.

After a quick search for all the boys' pokemon, they gathered around the hole, pokemon safely returned to their balls.

Misty motioned to the boys, clearly intending for them to go first. "Keep an eye out. We don't know what's down there. Could be Rockets or a bunch of wild pokemon."

Before she could even finish, Jay squeezed himself through the hole. They heard him scraping and grunting, then a crash and a muffled shout. "I'm ok!" Jay's muffled voice came from the hole. Be careful, there's a big drop a few feet down."

Slowly, and with plenty of grunting, the other three made their way through, joining Jay in a massive cavern. Crystals were poking out of the wall, giving off just enough light to illuminate the cavern.

Misty made her way over to one of the crystals, admiring it. "How are they glowing? They're beautiful…" Her eyes never left the crystal and she brushed it with her fingers. She was jerked back to reality by a shout.

Jay tackled her to the ground, shoulder driving into her stomach and knocking her to the ground with him on top of her .

"Motherfu…." She started.

"Shut up." He hissed in her ear. "Don't move, there's a squad of Rockets coming this way. I think they heard us come down here." He craned his neck to get a glimpse of Ash and Gary. The two were pressed into a rock, not daring to move.

"I'm telling you I heard something. Sounded like voices." One of the Rockets said.

"What? You think there's Takeshi soldiers down here?" Another one answered.

"Well who else could it be? They know their way around down here, and nobody's come through the blockade since those two nut jobs got here." He answered. "Let out your golbat. If there's anyone in here, it'll find them."

Jay tensed up. He could hear the two walking towards their hiding place, but he hadn't managed to spot them yet. Where Ash and Gary sat, he could see Gary reaching slowly towards his belt. Before he could motion for Gary to stop, a black boot stepped into view.

"Holy fuck there actually are people down here. Did we interrupt something little ones?" His voice was booming, echoing through the cavern.

Jay cursed as he felt himself being lifted up, rough hands grabbing him. Misty was yanked to her feet by a second Rocket. Their bags were torn off and taken, tossed off to the other members of the Rocket squad.

"Search those bags." The man holding Jay ordered. He pulled Jay around to face him. His face was scarred above his left eye, clearly burned by a fire pokemon. He kneed his captive in the stomach and laughed. "What have we here? Two little kids out to play? Don't you idiots know there's a siege? It's not safe for children here."

Jay doubled over, sick to his stomach from the pain. His vision was swimming and the man's laughing was ringing in his ears. He felt his knife and his pokeballs get ripped away from the sheath on his belt. He looked up, attempting to find Ash and Gary. They were gone from their hiding spot, only the lack of shouting telling him that they hadn't been found. He heard a slap from behind him, and a muffled squeak of pain. Jay shouted in anger, attempting to throw off his captor. Another blow and Jay's brief resistance was brought to an end, sent crumpling to the ground in a heap.

"Well boys, let's have some fun with this one!" He punctuated the sentence with a laugh that was joined by the rest of the squad. "Get her pants off Joren." A scream followed by another slap and muffled resistance echoed across the cavern.

Jay struggled to roll onto his chest, feeling the back of his head throb. He pushed himself to his knees, struggling and grunting with every movement. His pokeballs and knife lay discarded on the ground. He reached for them before a foot made contact with his back, knocking him back to the ground.

"I don't think so you little twat." The Rocket trooper grabbed his right arm and planted his foot above Jay's elbow.

Jay screamed in pain, feeling and hearing the bones in his arm snap. He reached desperately managing to reach his fingers to one of the balls. Not caring who was inside he tapped the button, releasing the beast inside. "Kill." He ordered. Before he saw who he had released, his vision swam and he nearly passed out again.

His nidorino growled, low and angry before plunging his horn into the Rocket's leg. He pulled back before stabbing its horn into the falling man's chest. When he pulled his horn back out it was dripping with blood and poison. Nidorino growled again and bit into the fallen Rocket's neck, tearing through flesh.

What happened next was a flurry of motion that Jay wouldn't fully understand until days later. The Rockets on Misty turned and within moments were rounding on Jay and his pokemon. Without realizing it, Jay managed to release his growlithe as well. His two pokemon faced off against several pokemon. Two raticate and a trio of golbat let out their cries of anger. All was silent for a moment, save for Jay's frantic grunting and the death moans of the Rocket nidorino had attacked.

"The fuck are we waiting for?" One of the Rockets yelled. "That fucker can barely stand. He killed Riley, fucking tear him to pieces." The man was shouting, attempting to push past his squad mates.

A bolt of electricity and blast of water answered him. One of the golbat dropped out of the air instantly, unconscious or worse. A wartortle took one of the raticate by surprise, leaping onto its back and alternating bites and jets of water strong enough to break the pokemon's hide. A nidorina leapt from the shadows, biting and scratching at the second raticate. Another blast of electricity lit the cavern, knocking a second golbat to the ground.

Finally the attackers revealed themselves. Two boys and a pikachu stepped into the light. With a shout, they charged the group of Rockets. The pikachu shot another bolt of electricity, taking the last golbat down. The pikachu shot forwards, dodging into the battle and joining against the raticate.

Jay opened his eyes, taking in the scene. The golbat trio were down, still crackling with electricity. Nidorino and growlithe were tearing apart one of the raticate. Wartortle and nidorina were ripping into the other one. Pikachu was bringing down Rockets with blasts of electricity and making their lives a living hell. Ash and Gary were tangling with two of the Rocket troops, wrestling them to the ground.

Jay forced himself to his feet, grabbing his knife on the way up and holding his arm close against his body. One of the Rockets was still standing over Misty, keeping her from releasing any of her pokemon. Her arms were pinned to her side, and pokeballs discarded beside her. All Jay could see was red, the outline of the Rocket trooper's back barely visible. He let out a feral growl and rushed the Rocket as quickly as he could.

He was screaming for help, calling for other Rockets through his radio. Jay needed to stop him. More Rockets would be the death of them, and with him barely able to fight, they had to leave immediately. All that mattered was stopping the Rocket on the radio. So Jay stopped him the only way he could. With his good arm he drew back the knife and plunged it into the man's back.

The man flailed around, knocking Jay back by smashing against his broken arm. Misty took the opportunity, kicking the Rocket's legs out before he could regain his senses. The last thing Jay saw before he drifted off was Misty pull her own knife out and repeatedly stab the man in the chest while tears streamed down her face. He heard a roar that shook the walls of the cavern, and then he heard nothing at all.

* * *

 _Well now that we've arrived at Pewter the hard part begins. Thank you so much to everyone who read this and I'm so sorry that I didn't manage to make the deadline I set. Please leave a review for me, it's always nice to know that your work is appreciated and how it could get better. On a side note, I went back and rewrote the first three chapters. Hopefully they're more entertaining now. Thanks everyone, and see you next time!_


	5. Recovery

_A/N: As a huge thank you to everyone who read this, and an apology for missing my deadline I set in chapter 3. Thank you so much, it puts a smile on my face to see so many people read this. Please leave a review to let me know what you like and what I can improve on. Sqcircles out!_

* * *

Jay was floating. He could feel himself suspended in the air. He opened his eyes, expecting bright lights or an angry Rocket. What he saw took him by surprise. He was floating in a vast empty space. Swirling purple smoke clouds and dark shadows obscured almost everything. In front of him was an unmoving black figure. It seemed to be made of shadows, swirling and raging against their confinement.

A thousand voices spoke at once, grating and screeching in his ears. "We have watched, and we have waited. This one has a part to play in the war to come. You will come with us." It reached forward, tugging Jay and propelling him forwards. "We cannot interfere with the living world without upsetting the balance. You must take our place." They were floating through one of the clouds of smoke.

Jay opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. The shadows turned, floating backwards in front of him.

"Calm little one, you are not dead. Your voice is silenced here in the land of those who have passed. It is for your protection. There are others who would harm you if they knew you were here."

Jay noticed that he wasn't actually hearing the voices. They were being spoken in his head. He wondered for a moment if he was losing his mind before the shadow answered him.

"You are not insane, although that is a possibility that we have considered. We are the souls of those who have given themselves for others. You almost became one of us. We will not allow this to happen yet. You are our last hope to stop the war to come."

"What about my friends?" Thought Jay. "They are good and honest people. They would help you."

"But would they ever believe you? We do not have the strength to bring them here. We could only choose one. You are the one who proved yourself worthy. They have destinies, they have power. You are the forgotten son of a farmer, important to only those close to you. You have both the most important and least important role to play." A thousand voices clamoured to be heard in Jay's head. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last.

"What is my part to play?" He asked.

The shadow leaned in close. The voices in Jay's head dimmed to a whisper. "You must give them direction." It laughed, a terrible sound that Jay would remember for the rest of his life. "A glimpse of the future to guide the hero on his way."

Images flashed through his head. First of a massive snow capped mountain range, then an abyss that stretched as far as he could see. The last image burned into his mind's eye. Ash was above him, laying over the edge of a cliff. A massive pokemon that Jay didn't recognize was bellowing at them. His arms were stretched out, hands locked with Ash's. His growlithe looked abnormally large and was breathing a full stream of fire at the pokemon.

A man Jay didn't recognize was leaning against a rock, blood dripping out of his armour and onto the rock. In front of him was an onix and a pair of staryu with their central jewels smashed and dark.

"What is this? What are you showing me?" He asked.

"The choice you must make." The shadow moved, frantically. "It is time for you to leave. Forces far greater than us have been alerted to your presence. You will not return to this place until your role has been fulfilled. Farewell Jason."

He shuddered as the shadow used his full name. He blinked once and the dark world was gone, replaced by a harsh florescent light.

His left side erupted in pain. He could barely think as he screamed in pain. He heard voices shouting and could tell there was a commotion around him. A flash of short red hair and screeching told him Misty was in the room. He didn't feel the needle in his arm, only the deadening of his senses and an urge to sleep.

* * *

Jay opened his eyes, again seeing the harsh light. It wasn't blurry this time though, and the noise seemed so much clearer. He sat up, sending pains through his whole left side. Ash was passed out in a chair, pikachu dozing on his lap. He looked down at his left arm and the cast on it.

"Hey…" His voice was weak, sounding more like a croak than a word. He cleared it and spoke again. "Hey Ash."

Ash didn't move, clearly deep asleep. Pikachu perked up at the sound of Jay's voice. He shook his master awake before jumping onto Jay's bed and curling up at his feet. From the sound of the frantic barking, growlithe was on the ground and attempting to jump up to the bed.

Ash quieted the growlithe before looking up at Jay. "You had us all worried there for a while. We didn't think you were ever going to wake up." He smiled, his grin reaching from ear to ear.

"How long was I out?" Jay asked, grimacing as he shifted weight off his left side.

"A month tomorrow. We were worried. Misty too if you can believe it." Ash said.

"I believe it." Jay answered. "I remember her being there when I woke up." Jay mumbled as he rubbed his temples.

Ash's face shifted into a more serious mask. "If you ever pull something like that again… I don't know what I'd do." Jay leant forwards to say something but Ash stopped him. "I'm serious Jay. You are my best friend. Just… Don't get yourself killed. It's boring as hell without you around." Ash finished, looking down at his feet.

"I'm in this for the long run. You don't have to worry about me running off." Jay said, trying to bring his friend's smile back.

"That's not what I'm worried about Jay. I'm worried about you biting off more than you can chew." Ash scolded. "If you had waited two minutes down in that cave, you would be fine right now. Instead, you decided you could take on the whole damn squad by yourself."

"I had to…" Jay started.

"No you didn't. That's the point. You shouldn't have tried to take them on by yourself. You ended up with three cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, cracked skull, a severe concussion, and who knows how many bones broken in your arm." Ash sighed as he went over the damage to Jay's body. "The doctor said you might not ever use your left arm properly again. It's a fucking miracle that you're not quacking at me from all the brain damage the doctors found."

Jay winced at the last two. "I'm assuming that we made it into Pewter? I'm not chained to the bed right now, and my injuries have been tended to His attempt to change the subject was transparent, but it worked nonetheless.

"Yeah." As said, leaning back in his chair. "We're still under siege and supplies are dwindling, but it's mostly non essential supplies that we're running low on. Thank Mew that Lord Brock is a paranoid freak. He's got whole warehouses filled with supplies."

"Lord Brock? I thought we needed a Lord Flint?" Jay interrupted.

"Flint is Brock's father. Apparently he stepped down in favour of his son." His voice lowered and he leaned in. "I don't know what's going to happen. Brock left today with a force of trainers to clear the road to Cerulean. Misty and Gary went with him." Ash seemed worried by the news, shifting his view.

"Why didn't you go? It's your mission as much as anyone else's." Jay asked his friend, scratching his growlithe's head as it jumped onto the bed. "You didn't need to stay here on my watch. As nice as it is, you're needed somewhere else."

"They already had about ten trainers and about twenty of the Takeshi soldiers. They'll be fine. Apparently there's less than fifty of the Rockets guarding the road. Should be an easy battle." He said.

"Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?" Jay asked, noticing Ash's discomfort.

He frowned back. "Am I that obvious?" He got a nod from Jay as his answer. "I'm just worried. The last time we ran into Rockets you ended up in a month-long coma. I'd prefer that not happen again."

"I'm sure Gary is fine, Misty too . They're tough." Jay reassured, trying to comfort his friend. "You look exhausted Ash, did you even sleep while I was out?"

Ash looked embarrassed. He smiled sheepishly. "Maybe once or twice." He rubbed the back of his head. "Don't give me that look. I was worried."

Jay laughed. "Don't worry brother, I'm not going to hold it against you." Jay swung his legs off his bed, dangling them off the edge. "Now help me get up and get this damn cast off my arm."

* * *

Two days passed with noticeable improvement from Jay. He could walk without a crutch, and breathing didn't hurt quite as much as it did when he first woke up. The cast wouldn't be able to come off for another week and a half, and even then he'd have to be careful with that arm. His pokemon were fine though, that was one of Jay's comforts. His growlithe was growing quickly. Already it was a foot longer than it had been when they left Pallet Town. Jay couldn't help but notice that his pokemon was starting to look about the same size it had in his vision.

The two boys were standing side by side on the eastern gate. It had been too long since the lord of Pewter left with his force of soldiers. All the soldiers manning the walls were getting nervous, scared that their ruler was not going to be riding back. Ash and Jay shared their fears, more caring about Gary's safety than anything else.

The fears of the entire city were calmed by the cloud of smoke approaching the city. A huge onix was at the head of it. On the pokemon's back was the figure of a man, waving the Takeshi banner through the air. The dust was starting to clear, revealing a significantly smaller number of men returning with them.

"I don't see Gary… Or Misty for that matter." Ash was leaning over the edge of the wall, attempting to get a better view. "Please tell me they're ok." He muttered under his breath. "I fucking knew I should have gone with them."

Jay put his right hand on Ash's shoulder. "They're fine. It's just too far away for us to see them." His voice was calm, attempting to reassure Ash.

"How can you be sure of that though?" Ash said, still staring intently over the wall.

"I can just feel it Ash. They're fine. Tired, but fine. Stop worrying yourself." Jay neglected to mention the vision he had seen in the shadow world. He figured that Ash wouldn't believe him even if he did tell him.

"I see them!" Ash yelled, instantly perking up. "They're riding a ryhorn, on the left side." He was shouting, giddy with joy.

Jay craned his neck and strained his eyes. He could barely make out a pair of people riding on the back of a massive horned beast. One of them had Misty's bright orange hair shining in the sun. Jay leaned back, relieved. He hadn't actually seen Misty and Gary in his vision, but the shadow had referred to them.

He thought back to the shadow's vision. He still couldn't figure out what choice it had referred to. He had sat awake for hours at night thinking about it, but no matter what, he couldn't tell what his choice was. A tap on the shoulder by Ash drew him back to reality.

"I said, let's go wait at the gates for them." Ash said in a concerned tone. "Are you okay? You kinda spaced out there."

Jay shook his head. "I guess the concussion isn't completely gone." He started towards the stairs, motioning for Ash to follow. "Not gonna let a little headache slow me down."

Ash hesitated for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something. Then without arguing, he followed Jay down the staircase.

* * *

Lord Brock, as Jay soon found out, was viewed as a hero. To the population of Pewter City, he was the symbol of their resistance, their bloody icon. He could not and would not fall, no matter what. Soldiers were chanting his name and bashing their spears and swords against their shields. He took it all in stride, slipping down off his onix and returning it to its ball.

The man fit his reputation as a stubborn leader with the same amount of determination as a rock. He was tall, almost seven feet tall with a wide frame that rippled with muscles. The vest of combat armour and cargo pants served to give him an air of practicality. His dark brown hair was cut into a crew cut. Thick bushy eyebrows sat above eyes that were thin slits.

"Why are his eyes like that?" Jay had to shout for Ash to hear him over the crowd. He couldn't help but notice that Brock was the man leaning on the rock in the shadow's vision.

Ash looked puzzled for a second then laughed. "He spent so much time underground growing up that the sun hurts his eyes. He's gotta keep them almost shut or else he gets blinded." Ash smiled as he watched Gary and Misty dismount the ryhorn and walk over to them.

"It was a fucking ambush." Gary started. Upon seeing Ash's face turn to panic he corrected himself. "We won, but they caught most of Brock's soldiers in an ambush, some kind of poison gas. Thank mew that the trainers weren't marching in the same column as the soldiers."

"The ones with birds managed to get them out and blow the gas away before it could reach us." Misty said. Her eyes narrowed on Jay. "I need to talk to you when you've got a minute." She opened her mouth to continue, but the arrival of Brock silenced her.

"Well, look who's finally awake!" His voice was jovial, booming over the crowd.

"Welcome to Pewter my boy. I'd offer you a bed, but you've already got one." He smiled, seeming warm and welcoming. "I'd like to announce that the siege of Pewter is over. With their main camp destroyed and their agents driven back, we've won. I'll send out a few of my bannermen to clear out the remnants of the besieging army and restore contact with the rest of the world."

"Well he's happy." Jay whispered to Ash.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Brock boomed. "My city is safe. With Pewter secured, we can begin the next step." The man's grin didn't fade even a little bit.

Misty smiled, pleased with the progress. "Mount Moon." She said, drawing determined looks from Ash and Gary.

Jay swallowed, realizing what the shadow had shown him. He had seen Mount Moon, and then a cave. His choice was coming, too quickly for his own liking.

Brock strode off, the crowd parting before him. He motioned for them to follow him. "Come!" He called. "We'll discuss more in private."

The blood drained from his face and he froze on the spot. He realized what choice he would have to make. He felt a lump form in his throat. The shadow had shown him his own death. He had to choose to let go. He had to choose to sacrifice himself. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.


	6. Heart of the Mountain

_A/N: Wow, what a huge thanks you guys deserve. Well over 600 views and counting. I didn't actually think people would want to read this but I've been wrong before. Enough of me blathering on, please just read this and leave a review letting me know what you guys liked and didn't. Sqcircles out!_

* * *

Brock had taken them to a private war room, behind his throne room. A table sat in the middle of the room, a map of the area around Pewter on it. Brock instantly started re-arranging the pieces on it to reflect the events of his raid on the enemy camp.

"So we lost twenty men." Brock pushed one of the boulder shaped pieces off the table. "And we slaughtered the Rockets." The R-shaped pieces hit the floor a moment later. "Finally the agents fled, likely to Mount Moon." He moved the last R-shaped piece to where the mountain was on the map.

"Don't forget that there's already a force inside the mountain. There was some kind of facility there when I was fleeing Cerulean." Misty said. "We can't assault the mountain if we know nothing about them. We don't know their defences, their numbers, or their leadership. We could be walking into a slaughter." She finished.

"You know more about war than I thought my lady." Brock said. "Colour me impressed."

Misty smiled confidently. "I did more than just stroll through the gardens as a child. Cerulean is a matriarchy. It was either learn how to rule, or devote myself to artistic design." She spat the last sentence with enough venom to bring a shocked stare from the others.

After a moment of awkward silence, Brock continued. "I will not leave Pewter undefended. My army stays here." He said flatly, furrowing his brow.

"Wait a moment, I need your army." Misty said, clearly upset. "That's the whole fucking reason I came to Pewter. You have the only army in a thousand miles capable of retaking my home."

Brock looked at her calmly. "I will not give up my home for a chance at retaking yours. I am not abandoning you Misty, we just need to be smart about this." He didn't raise his voice, instead choosing to keep his even tone.

She smashed her hand down on the table, nearly yelling by this point. "Then tell me how to be smart about this! I don't see how I'm going to take back my city if I don't have an army."

Ash smiled suddenly, followed quickly by Gary. Brock looked at the two before smiling as well.

Misty looked at them, fury in her eyes. "Let me guess, there's a simple solution that I've missed." She said, sounding resigned.

Ash looked at her then spoke softly. "Misty… You have an army. The best part is, it's already in Cerulean. It's just waiting for you."

Realization dawned on her face. "My mother's bannermen. They're mine now." She shook her head, smiling dumbly. "Even I can be an idiot sometimes." She smirked before looking back up at Brock. "So big guy, how are we getting me to Cerulean? We still have a mountain full of Rockets in our way."

He smiled back, jovial attitude coming back. "That's where I come in. I don't have a single man I trust more than myself, and I don't know anyone who knows that mountain as well as I do. Even if there's some new facility in there, I know every single tunnel and where it leads." He laughed, startling them all. "I'll take you there myself."

* * *

Jay could hardly believe how quickly the week until their departure passed. The days flew by, filled with constant preparation. Brock had taken it upon himself to train the boys in combat, taking them out to the practice field and sending them back at the end of the day covered in bruises. Jay's arm meant that Brock only taught him how to fight with only a shield. Somehow, he still ended up covered in bruises at the end of the day.

Their pokemon were put through just as much, if not more, training. They spent hours perfecting techniques and building their endurance. Every single day started with a run, followed by what would barely pass for a meal in most places then mock battles where they were put in various situations they might face in a battle. At the end of the day, they were given another handful of food and sent to bed.

It was hell, Jay thought. He knew immediately that military life was not his calling. He couldn't help but think that all of this wouldn't matter anyways. He'd be dead before they got to Cerulean. He grew bitter over the week, withdrawing into a shell. He barely even spoke anymore, even during the little time off they got between training sessions. His growlithe was the only one he would spare any attention for. Misty hadn't even come to speak to him like she had said she would, but Jay couldn't blame her. Preparing for the trip had taken up all her time.

The week passed in a blur, the sun coming up on their departure day with all of them up and ready to go. Brock was leaving his oldest sibling in charge, a slender girl who was kindhearted and sweet. The three boys, Misty, Brock and his youngest brother set out just after dawn. Brock had insisted on bringing his brother, reasoning that he was a strong trainer and knew the tunnels almost as well as Brock did.

They had reached the old Rocket camp within the day. The smell of burning flesh was still present, charred human remains sitting in piles beside the road. They passed through the camp without words. Nobody wanted to spend anymore time there than they had to. By the time they made camp that night they had already reached the base of the mountain. Brock had made a dinner, boiling the rations they had brought.

Sleep brought Jay a new problem. The closer he got to the mountain, the worse he got. He barely spoke, preferring to walk silently beside his growlithe. The night before they entered the mountain was spent in fitful sleep, images of the pokemon he had seen and Ash's terrified eyes looking down at him flashed through his mind. By the time the sun had risen, Jay had barely gotten even an hour's worth of sleep.

At about mid day, they reached the mine shaft they were entering the mountain through. Jay looked up at the sun, admiring it for the last time. Ash caught him staring at the sun, and clapped him on the back.

"Don't worry buddy, you'll be out in the sun again soon enough." Ash smiled while he made the joke. Jay didn't respond, just giving his friend a weak smile. Ash paused, worry crossing his features for a second. "Are you…" He started to ask.

"Fine." Jay said as he started his way towards his death. "Let's just move."

Ash didn't dare argue with him, simply following with a a concerned look on his face.

* * *

"It's not much further." Brock said. The oil lamp he held was the group's only source of light. "You guys are gonna love this. I always thought that it was one of the year most beautiful things I'd ever seen." His face was hidden by shadows, but the smile on his face could be heard in his voice.

The group stepped out of the tunnel into a massive cavern. They were on the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped of into pitch blackness. The cavern walls stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction, and the other side of the cavern wasn't visible in the darkness. Jay seized up and the blood drained from his face. This was where it was going to happen. He was going to die here.

"Welcome to the heart of the mountain." Brock exclaimed. "As far as we can tell, it formed when the onix tunnels compromised the internal structure of the mountain. Nobody has ever mapped the entire thing, and we aren't quite sure what's at the bottom." He laughed again. "In fact, we don't even know if there is a bottom. Every attempt to find it has met with failure. The few explorers that did return from the pit spoke of monsters in the darkness and the never ending climb." Brock spoke with a passion, staring down into the pit. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Brock finished.

Nobody except for Billy, Brock's brother, wanted to get anywhere near the pit. They were all still standing near the entrance to the cavern, warily watching the edge of the cliff.

Jay spoke up, barely even managing to form words. "Brock, we need to go. We can't stay here."

Brock turned with an offended look on his face. "You don't think it's beautiful?" He asked.

"I do, I'm just not comfortable beside a bottomless pit that leads to hell." Jay said.

"I never said it lead to hell" Brock said.

Jay laughed. "No you just said that there's monsters in the darkness. That's pretty close to hell." He looked around. "Let's just keep going. We haven't seen any sign of the Rockets, and we still have a long way to go." He spoke quickly and with a nervous tone.

The others echoed his sentiments, petitioning Brock to keep moving. Brock persisted for a few minutes, but eventually caved under the pressure.

Within minutes they had left the pit behind, making their way into another tunnel and towards Cerulean. Jay breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing how he had avoided the vision he had seen. He brushed off the feeling of discomfort and put on a smile. Maybe he wasn't going to die under this mountain after all.

* * *

They had formed into pairs. Brock and his brother, Ash and Gary, and Misty and Jay. For the most part they walked in silence, only broken by the odd question or joke from Jay.

Misty shot him an annoyed look after one of his more cheesy jokes. "How do you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?" He answered with confusion crossing his face.

She sighed, pausing for a moment. "You're always so… I don't know, silly would be a good word but it's too childish. I'd say immature, but you've shown me you know when to be mature. I don't even know what I'm asking."

He smiled, barely visible in the light from Brock's lamp. "I think I know what you're asking. You want to know how I stay so positive. With all the bad that happens, how I keep the smile?"

Misty nodded. "If it isn't that, then it's really close to what I was asking." She said.

He shrugged back. "I don't really know. I haven't had to see as much death and horror as you, so I guess it's just easier for me to stay positive. The worst I've ever had to deal with was when my dad died. We had just moved to Pallet Town and were starting a new life after our farm north of Viridian was overrun by bugs. I just kinda retreated into a shell. I wouldn't smile, and didn't want to do anything. My mum snapped me out of it by giving me my growlithe."

Misty gave him a rare smile. "Pokemon can have that effect on people. I'm glad you're back by the way." She said.

"Pardon me?" He asked.

"Don't even try to deny it. Ever since you woke up in Pewter you've been a different person. Maybe it was the concussion, and maybe it was just a side effect of having your ass kicked. Whatever it was, I'm glad it's gone. As annoying as you can be, things just weren't right with you moping about looking miserable. Ash especially took it as his fault for not jumping into the fight under Pewter faster." She shot him an angry glare when he tried to interrupt, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't even start Jay. If anyone is at fault, it's me. I dragged you guys into this mess."

He smiled. "Knowing Ash, we'd have gotten involved in some other way if you hadn't."

She laughed. "You might be right." She paused for a moment, hesitant. "I never did thank you properly. I wanted to take you aside privately and do it when we were back in Pewter, but we were always so busy. You were acting weird, and I wasn't keen on letting you in as it is." She shrugged. "I guess I'm just trying to thank you for stopping those Rockets. They would have…" She trailed off into silence.

"It's ok. You don't have to finish. Don't say it if it upsets you." He hesitated for a moment. "I couldn't let them just do that to you." He smiled sheepishly. "We did promise to help you get Cerulean back, and it might be difficult to do that if you're dead."

She laughed softly. "Convenient that you left out the reason you're helping me."

Jay laughed back. "I don't know if we need a reason anymore. Ash seems to like you. So do our pokemon, and they're usually pretty good judges of character." He smiled and hesitated. "Despite the bitch queen exterior, you're alright."

"What?!" Misty exclaimed. "Only alright? Damn I thought I'd done a better job than just alright." She huffed and put on a pouty face before breaking and laughing. "You know, you guys are the first people not in my family that I've cared about. I realized it when you woke up the first time."

"You don't have to…" Jay started before Misty cut him off.

"Can it. I'm trying to tell you something you idiot." She shot him a look of annoyance, then continued. "When we first brought you to the Pewter hospital they said that you might never wake up. At first I was just frustrated that I'd lost one third of my hired help. Then you woke up screaming and something inside me snapped. I couldn't just not care. You had saved me in more ways than one and I didn't deserve it from how I treated you." She wore an embarrassed look, frowning to herself. "Did you know that I didn't even know your name until after you saved me? We'd been traveling together for a while. What excuse did I have?"

Jay smiled, before offering a simple answer. "Sometimes being nice works."

Misty pondered his words as they walked, choosing not to answer. For the moment, she was glad that Jay chose not to talk.

* * *

Brock was already wary enough, knowing that there were Rockets under the mountain. The lights and noises he could hear coming from the cavern ahead showed him exactly where they were. "Get down! Against the wall, now!" Brock whispered back to the group. They flattened themselves against the wall, joining Brock. "Get your pokemon ready. We might need to fight our way through. There's only one tunnel to Cerulean and it looks like they're fortifying the fuck out of it."

Misty crept up beside him. "Are you sure there's no way around?" Brock's quick nod was answer enough for her. She cursed under her breath then hefted a ball. "If we do this quietly we have a better chance."

Ash spoke up from behind them. "Is there any way we can turn off the lights? It'd probably be easier to sneak by if we do."

Brock stayed grimly silent, then glanced at Misty. "We need to shut whatever operation they've got going on here down. You know what that means." He said grimly.

Misty only grimaced before shimmying back to where the others were laying. "It's not enough to just sneak by. We need to shut them down for good." She looked directly into their eyes, shifting from one to the other. "We need to destroy whatever equipment they've got down here and kill as many of them as we can."

Ash balked at her proposal. "What do you mean kill them?" Misty's flat silence gave him his answer. "Can't we just take them prisoner or something?" He asked.

Misty shook her head. "We don't have nearly enough men to consider that. The only way to make sure this place stays shut down is making sure that there aren't enough of them to continue their operation."

Ash looked down, hanging his head. "If we kill them, what's the difference between us?" He asked solemnly.

Jay put his hand on Ash's shoulder. "We're different because we don't kill unnecessarily. We only kill when there's no other way." His reassuring smile calmed Ash almost immediately. He didn't answer, only shaking his head and steeling himself for the fight.

"We're not going to have any problems right?" Misty asked. The boys shook their heads in answer. Misty looked nervously back at Brock before shimmying over.

"Everyone ready?" Brock asked. When he got nods as answers he stood up, looked back at the group with a wicked smile and released his pokemon. A golem, onix, and ryhorn appeared beside him. "Draw your blades and stay close. Get your pokemon ready. We're about to kick the beedrill nest.

* * *

 _Alrighty then, one final note before the fight really kicks off. There is a poll up on my profile. Please vote on it, I'd like to see a little input from you guys on how you want this story to play out. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review!_


	7. Queen of the Mountain

_This is a bit of a shorter chapter but I promise you there's a reason for that. Just a reminder that the poll is still up on my profile (I did make a mistake putting it up, thanks for pointing that out), and I'd like a little input from the readers you guys are the whole reason I'm writing this in the first place. Hope you're enjoying the story so far, so please leave a review to let me know what you think._

 _In direct answer to Lord Geovanni's review. If Jay does die, he won't be gone from the story. There are going to be quite a few supernatural elements to this story, so stay tuned. Sqcircles out!_

* * *

Brock's blade pierced through the Rocket's chest, driven straight through flesh and bone from behind. He pushed the dying man off his blade with his shield, motioning for the others to follow him deeper into the Rocket facility. Before he could finish it, another Rocket grunt charged him screaming a savage war cry. Brock snarled back and engaged the man, trading blows and quickly gaining an upper hand.

Misty brought down the other Rocket grunt, stabbing one knife through her neck and the other through his back. The man fell and was quickly dispatched by a third stab through the base of his neck.

Jay brought his shield up just in time to deflect a club that had been headed right towards his neck. He blocked two more blades before going on the offensive with his shield. They exchanged blows, Jay managing to keep the Rocket on his left side and away from his undefended right arm. Finally he received help in the form of Misty barging into the man from behind, knives repeatedly jabbing into the man's chest. Jay brought his shield down on the man's neck, crushing his windpipe. They looked up to see Brock and his brother bring down the last Rocket grunt.

"Three more down. The lights still aren't down though." Misty yelled to them.

Jay shot her a nervous look before speaking. "We'd know if they'd been captured or worse." He stopped himself, not wanting to worry anyone. "They're probably just waiting for the way to clear or something." He said.

Misty looked unconvinced by his assurances, glancing back at Brock. "Are you sure the generator was down that tunnel?"

Brock nodded. "Had to be. Those noises couldn't have been anything else."

Jay looked over to where their pokemon were finishing off the remaining Rocket pokemon. His growlithe was tearing into an ekans, ripping through the scales and belching flames into the open wound. His nidorino stood over the prone form of a raticate, blood dripping off his horn and snout.

"Looks like our pokemon won again." Brock gave them a quick glance, scanning for injuries. "They all seem fine. Just tired. I don't know how many more Rockets we can handle." He said.

The sound of feet pounding on the rocks came closer. Jay hefted his shield and his pokemon snarled and drew closer to him. "Here they come!" He yelled.

Ash and Gary burst out of the tunnel ahead of the group, followed by pikachu and Sergei. A massive onix burst out behind them, roaring in anger. Jay roared an order, stopped by an angry shout from Ash.

"He's with us!" Ash shouted, waving his arms back and forth to get their attention. The onix reared back as far as it could, clearly startled by the other humans. "He's helping us fight off the Rockets. They're right on our asses, so get ready."

"What happened to the lights?" Misty yelled.

Ash shot her a visibly annoyed look. "The legion of Rockets guarding it stopped us." He turned to look right at them. "I think we found those agents too."

Brock stepped up at that. "How do you know?"

It was Gary that answered. "I know because they killed Lizzie." He said with a sullen look on his face.

"Your nidorina?" Jay asked. A short nod from Gary confirmed it. Jay knew better than to ask how she had died. "We'll give her a proper burial. And you can be sure we'll get the bastard who did it back." Jay attempted to comfort the young Oak, patting his shoulder and speaking softly.

Before anyone could say another word, a small horde of Rockets and their pokemon came rushing out of the tunnel the boys had come from. The huge onix coiled up, inhaled and spat a stream of blue flames at them, bathing the barrier one of their psychic types had managed to throw up. It roared in anger and lashed out with its tail, sweeping through the barrier and crushing the Rockets against a wall. A sickening crunch and screams of agony followed. The onix inhaled and spat another steam of blue flames at the crushed Rockets, silencing them permanently.

The group couldn't help but stare in awe and fear at the massive beast. Brock especially was entranced by the massive rock snake.

"Guys…" Brock started. "I think you found Carris." He sounded in awe, admiration clear in his voice. "I never believed the legends…" He trailed off into silence.

Jay gave him a nervous look. "Brock, who's Carris?" He asked.

Brock turned, a gleam in his eye. "Carris is the queen of the mountain. She's supposedly one of the first onix to have ever existed. The legends say she fiercely defends her territory against any human aggression. She's fifty feet long and supposedly can breathe dragonfire. Judging by those blue flames, we've found her." He looked up at the massive beast. "Carris!" He shouted.

The rock snake roared in answer and spat a stream of dragonfire at the roof of the cavern. It glared down at Brock, disdain clear on its face. It jerked its head at the tunnel again and roared a challenge. All was silent for a moment, only Carris' roar echoing off the tunnel walls. Then a deeper roar answered her. Carris immediately belched a stream of dragonfire at the opening, only to have it deflected by a psychic barrier.

Four pokemon emerged from the tunnel, growling and snarling but holding back from attacking. A victreebell, rhydon, arbok and hypno stood across from the group. Two people walked out, wearing white outfits emblazoned with a bright red R on their chests.

"Well James, what do we have here?" The woman asked her companion. She stepped into the light and flipped back her bright purple hair. She wore a sinister look, almost like she was planning every way she could kill the group in front of them.

"Two little lordlings and their brave retinue of warriors. Pardon me my dear Jessie, but they don't look like much at all." The man stepped into the light as well, revealing dark purple hair cut to his shoulders. His voice had an almost musical sound to it.

A fifth pokemon emerged from the tunnel. A slender cat with a jewel on its crest slunk over to beside the two, licking blood from its paws. It's eyes never left Gary, hungrily staring at him. The blood drained from Gary's face, showing his fear to the persian that glared at him.

"You are going to die for what you did." Gary muttered under his breath. Jay shot him a look, not even daring to speak.

"You know what we have to do." Jessie said. "Unless you lay down your weapons and pokeballs silently, we're going to have to take… Drastic measures." She punctuated her sentence with a wicked smile and sinister chuckle.

Brock glared at her, weapons trembling in anger. Misty had a fiery look in her eyes that scared even herself. Jay, Ash and Gary had their weapons at the ready, waiting for the fight to break out. It was Brock's little brother who broke the silence.

The moment his war cry left his lips, the others charged. The Rocket agents, and their pokemon roared a war cry back and attacked.

Carris uncoiled her tail, swinging the blade at the rhydon. It caught the bladed tail, bracing itself with its massive legs. Carris let loose a stream of dragonfire, bathing the pokemon in blue fire. The rhydon withstood the fire easily, glaring at the massive onix through the flames. The rhydon charged, cutting off the flames with a blow to the rock snake's jaw.

Growlithe and nidorino were tangled in battle with the arbok. It was using its tail as a whip to keep nidorino at bay while it snapped at growlithe with its fangs. Tiring of their lack of progress, nidorino latched onto the poison snake's tail with its jaws, drawing attention away from growlithe. The snake turned and gave growlithe the opening it needed to attack. The little dog leapt onto the snake's hood, clamping down with its jaws while tearing at the snake with its clawed paws.

Ash's pikachu and Sergei (Gary's wartortle) took on the hypno. Bolts of electricity and blasts of water were met by psychic barriers and waves of energy that rippled through the air. Pikachu was lifted into the air by the hypno's powers and smashed into Sergei, sending them sprawling. The two pokemon untangled themselves and glared at the hypno. They leapt into action, dodging psychic blasts and returning their own with water or electricity.

Misty's pokemon were taking on the persian. Her staryu were circling the cat, levitating above its reach and using their psychic powers to pick up rocks and bash them into the cat. Her starmie was spinning, it's legs acting as blades as it swooped in while levitating itself. The cat was easily dodging the attacks with its agility.

Brock's golem was locked into a struggle with the victreebell, blood leaking from between the boulders that adorned its body. The victreebell's vines were easily able to find the cracks in between the boulders and reach the fleshy skin inside.

James grabbed a sword from the ground, retrieving one of the fallen Rocket's weapons. He whipped towards Jay, who was charging him with his shield held high. James easily battered him back, hammering blows on the shield until it was nothing but a splintered mess. Jay retreated behind a charging Ash, holding his arm close. Ash wasn't especially skilled with his blade, but he made up for it with a ferocity that drove James back on the defensive. Misty soon joined him, attacking James with a scream of pent up fury. James was hard pressed to block all the blows and was forced to retreat and release a huge machoke that drove back the two trainers attacking him. Jay rejoined his friends, having found himself a dagger to fight with. The machoke continued fighting, not even seeming to break a sweat.

Gary, Brock and Billy were facing off against the woman with far less success than their friends. She wielded a double sided spear, spinning and stabbing wildly. The three could barely keep up an offensive and were hard pressed to defend themselves, much less land any blows of their own.

A pained scream drew everyone's attention. The rhydon had gained the upper hand and tossed Carris to the ground. It had one foot pressing the onix into the dirt, and repeatedly was smashing the rock snake's head into the rock. Carris' attempts to knock the pokemon off were proving useless. The rhydon brought its fists down, hammering the onix back into the ground every time it tried to rise.

Ash broke the stalemate. He tossed a pokeball at Carris, sucking the onix inside with a flash of red. The rhydon looked at him and roared, furious with having its quarry stolen from it.

Jessie took advantage of the distraction, leaping forward and jabbing her spear into Billy's leg. The young man fell while screaming, his leg no longer able to support his weight. Brock bellowed and redoubled his efforts, smashing his blade against Jessie's spear hard enough to crack it in two. Her weapon broken, Jessie was defenceless to stop Brock from smashing his shield into her repeatedly, breaking her nose and bloodying her face.

James, seeing his partner was in danger, released a weezing that brought an eye watering smell with it. "Gas them out." He ordered. He pulled a mask from his belt and donned it quickly. Jessie did the same, using the weezing's appearance as a distraction.

Brock hauled his brother to his feet, yelling over the sounds of battle. "We need to run. Everyone get your pokemon and go!" His arm went up, pulling his golem into the ball. He turned and ran as fast as he could while supporting his brother.

The others quickly realized the battle was turning against them. With several more flashes of light, the pokemon disappeared into their balls. The trainers turned heel and ran, retreat their only option left.

Jessie and James simply laughed as they watched them go. They returned their pokemon, with the exception of James' weezing and slowly made to follow the trainers.

Jay ran as fast as he could with an injured man on his shoulder. He held one of Billy's arms, pulling him along with a frantic Brock. The three were lagging behind the others, only hearing the sounds of their feet on the rock.

"What the fuck happened?" Jay shouted while they ran. "I thought you guys beat the agents back?"

Brock glared at him, any trace of his jovial mood gone. "Don't ask me. That rhydon wasn't at the battle outside Pewter. It was only the persian and the victreebell then." He lifted Billy, taking on more of his weight. "Lets just get him somewhere safe so I can bind his leg." He looked at his brother. "You're gonna be ok Billy. I'm gonna take care of you."

They emerged into the massive chamber with the pit. The others were standing there, doubled over and breathing hard. Pikachu was laying on its side, breathing heavily. Jay and Brock set Billy down against a rock. Brock immediately dived into his pack, pulling out his medical supplies. He set about binding his leg, working at a frantic pace.

Jay stepped over to the others. "What the fuck happened?" He asked, looking pointedly at Ash and Gary.

Gary hung his head. "I got us noticed. We were doing an alright job of holding off the regular Rocket grunts until those fuckers showed up. The persian…" He trailed off, remembering what happened to his nidorina.

Ash picked up where he left off. "The persian jumped on Lizzie and broke her neck immediately. Then the arbok showed up and nearly got pikachu. We ran after that, all that mattered was getting back to you guys."

"They weren't that strong when we hit them outside Pewter." Misty said. "We beat them easily. Do you think they let us win?" She asked.

"What purpose would that have served?" Jay asked angrily.

"They probably wanted to lure us in. They wanted an easy way to eliminate two huge threats to them. I guess an ambush under Mount Moon was their idea." She answered.

A roar of fury echoed through the cavern, coming from the tunnel they had emerged from.

Misty stood up straight. She released her three pokemon, defiantly glaring at the tunnel. "Now they're coming to finish the job." She planted her feet, her actions mimicked by her pokemon. "I'll be damned if I die down here. I'm not letting them take me down without a fight."

Gary silently joined her. Sawyer and Sergei joined her pokemon, looking fierce and ready for a fight.

Ash looked down at pikachu. His electric mouse nodded and joined the pokemon. Ash held up the ball that held Carris. He looked at the others, then released the Queen of the Mountain. The onix roared in defiance and glared at Ash, furious at her confinement. Ash glared back. "Carris, I captured you to save your life. Now I need your help. Help us drive off the Rockets and I will release you." The onix didn't answer Ash, simply glaring at him. Then it moved over to the other pokemon, roaring a challenge for any to hear. The sound of that roar brought a smile to Ash's face.

Jay released his pokemon, ordering them to join the others. His growlithe lingered for a moment, unwilling to leave his master's side. Then with a pointed glare from Jay, it sauntered over to the other pokemon. Jay then walked to Brock's side, putting a hand of his shoulder. "You're a much better fighter than me. I'll take care of him if you go help the others.

Brock didn't move. When Jay prodded him again, the Lord of Pewter city stood up and walked to where the others were standing. Jay took his place at Billy's side, putting pressure on the wound on his leg.

The four of them and their pokemon stood defiant as the Rocket agents walked into the cavern. The rhydon walked out of the darkness behind them. It glared at Carris, growling. The Rockets smiled, then the rhydon charged.


	8. Golden Lining

"Mother of all fucks!"Jay cursed, barely managing to get his shield in the way of the leaping persian. The cat hissed and spat, attempting to sink its claws into Jay's flesh. "Billy!" Jay shouted. "Fuck, get up." The persian knocked him back, pushing him to the ground. "I need you!"

Brock's brother didn't move, staring at the struggling pair. Jay's salvation came in the form of his growlithe. The dog tackled the persian, coated in flame. The cat hissed and abandoned Jay, focusing on his pokemon instead. The two leapt at each other, tangling in a mess of claws, teeth and flame. Jay returned to Billy's side, cursing under his breath.

The battle had started better than before. Carris had crushed the hypno with her massive tail, leaving a red smear and guts coating the rock. Sergei and Sawyer were keeping the arbok busy, dividing its attention. Jay saw the victreebell laying on its side, leaves torn apart and still smoking from his growlithe's attack. The rhydon was providing the most trouble for the group's pokemon. It was shielding the agents from Brock and Misty, while simultaneously fighting Carris, as well as Brock and Misty's pokemon. Pikachu was darting between battles, letting loose bolts of electricity while appearing as nothing more than a yellow blur.

"Come on, get up!" Jay pulled Billy to his feet, starting towards a tunnel opening. "We gotta get you under cover." Before he could make more than a few steps, Carris was thrown to the ground. The entire cavern shook with the impact. The ground beneath Jay's feet began to crumble into the pit. Billy lost his footing, nearly dragging Jay with him as he fell into the blackness.

Jay realized he had moments left before the ground swallowed him as well. He sprinted forward, watching his growlithe force the persian to retreat. He felt a jolt and watched the ground in front of him fall away. He jumped, good arm outstretched. He landed hard, scrabbling at the rock to gain any purchase he could. Ash's hand met his, steadying him. He looked up at Ash's terrified face before inhaling sharply. Behind Ash he could see the battle unfolding.

James fired a crossbow he produced from his belt at Brock. The Lord of Pewter stumbled and fell against a rock, blood leaking onto the rock. The rhydon roared and lifted Carris above its head. It tossed the rock snake into a wall, then turned and smashed its fist into both of Misty's staryu. They crashed to the ground, their central jewels shattered. Nidorino had been kicked into the wall by the rhydon, crashing through into another cavern. Growlithe leapt at the rhydon breathing a stream of fire. Sergei and pikachu joined in the assault, mixing their attacks. Time seemed to slow down. It was his vision. He hadn't changed it after all.

Jay looked to his right, hearing a desperate scream. Misty was hanging off the edge of the cliff, the ground having collapsed from underneath her. Jay looked back up at Ash, mustering his strength. He jammed his right arm into the wall, lodging the cast on it into a gap between rocks. "Save her!" He shouted while gesturing to Misty. "If we lose her, we lose everything." When Ash didn't make a move he shouted louder. "I can hold myself, go now." Ash let go, very nearly dislodging Jay from the wall. He held of for his life, determined to keep his vision from coming true.

Jay watched Ash reach Misty and pull her up, yanking her up away from danger. He pulled, reaching for the ledge. A hand met his. The hand's owner spoke. "I've got you." Gary Oak's eyes met his. Gary nodded then pulled him up. Jay didn't dare breathe in until he was standing on solid ground. Jay turned to see the rhydon topple over, finally overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks it had withstood. The arbok and persian hastily retreated, followed quickly by the Rocket agents.

Jay breathed a sigh of relief, shared quickly by the others. Nidorino emerged from the wall, dazed and limping, but alive. Growlithe sat heavily beside Jay, panting and licking the blood from his paws. Jay absentmindedly brushed his hand through his pokemon's fur, smiling to himself.

Jay returned his pokemon to their balls, giving them a much needed rest. Ash had returned Carris, not knowing what else to do with her. Gary and Misty had returned their surviving pokemon, slowly joining Ash and Jay.

Without warning, the ground cracked open again. The rest of the cliff face was collapsing, falling into the pit. The group immediately leapt into action, sprinting towards an open tunnel with all the speed they could muster.

Misty faltered, tripping over a crack in the ground. She hit the ground, falling and struggling to get up. Jay turned, realizing that she had fallen. He dashed back, wordlessly pulling her foot out of the crack in the ground. He hauled her to her feet, then locked eyes with Ash. The ground fell out beneath him, dropping into the darkness with his and Misty's screams mixing over the crumbling rock.

They dropped into the dark, swallowed by the pit. Ash and Gary stood on the edge, staring into the pit that had taken their friends. Brock slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. He looked up at the remains of the group before freezing with a terrible look on his face. "Where's Billy?" He asked. All was silent for a moment, before the sound of Brock's heavy sobs broke the air.

They emerged from the caves under the mountain two days later. They were beaten and bloody, but the Rocket facility was shut down. The fortifications seemed to be facing towards Cerulean, as if they were expecting an attack from that direction. A network of rooms lead deeper into the mountain. Upon investigation by pikachu, they realized that the network of rooms were abandoned and devoid of human life.

It was another day and a half before they came within sight of Cerulean. Brock remained silent the entire journey, the jovial man that had led them into the tunnel was gone. He had been replaced by this more brooding and darker person. For the most part, the others hadn't addressed his brother's death, instead just leaving him to grieve by himself.

The group made camp in a clump of trees that obscured them from Cerulean's watchtowers. Their pokemon, with the exception of Carris, were lounging around the camp, resting and enjoying being out in the open air. Pikachu in particular was keeping his trainer company, with the others preferring to find their own place to sleep among the trees.

The mood in the camp was somber and silent. Not a word was spoken, except for short questions and curt answers. With Misty gone, the only hope they had of driving the Rockets out of Cerulean had vanished into the dark. With Jay gone, the two from Pallet town were in a funk staring into the fire and off into the night's sky.

* * *

Ethan Gold's brown eyes shot open, the sun piercing through his window and landing on his exposed face. He rolled over, hiding from the sun. A quiet yawn met his ears, telling him that his cyndaquil was awake. He felt the small fire type jump up on his bed, and curl up on top of his blanket. Smiling to himself, he let himself drift off again.

A huge crash at his door woke him up. He waited a moment, hoping the noise would go away, but a second crash drove any chance of that from his mind. He got up, unlatching and opening the door. In complete surprise to him, Lyra Kotone was standing there looking furious. Her girlish pigtails and denim overalls shattered her attempt to portray herself as intimidating. Before he could say a word, she had burst into his room and was berating him.

"You were supposed to be there two hours ago. The professor has been waiting and the new visitors are stressing him out. You're supposed to be training with the professor's pokemon by now . That's the reason he hired you right?" She was packing his bag herself, tossing his belongings into it from where he had tossed them the night before. She pushed it into his chest, driving the wind out of him. She locked eyes with him, then narrowed her eyes. "If you aren't in the lab in twenty minutes, the professor is going to fire your ass. Then who would I have to talk to? Get the fuck up and let's go." She stalked out, muttering to herself.

Ethan rolled his eyes at her as she walked away. While the girl could be sweet and kind to him at times, her temper rose at every perceived slight towards professor Elm. She revered him and constantly was at his side to act as one of his aides. He enjoyed talking to her too, mostly because there weren't any other people around that were even remotely interesting. Ethan smiled to himself, gathered his bag and motioned for cyndaquil to follow him. The little fire type happily followed him, sniffing at every interesting object.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked into the lab to a scene he hadn't expected. There was an elderly man in the middle of an animated conversation with professor Elm at the back of the lab. A trio of woman were sleeping on the couches that sat outside Elm's office. Lyra was seated in professor Elm's chair, a scowl clear on her face. Ethan gave her the widest grin he could, drawing out a small smirk. Despite her intensity about anything to do with professor Elm, she was usually mellow most of the time about everything else.

"Who's the old man?" Ethan asked, leaning on the desk in Elm's office. "And the three women asleep on the couches?"

Lyra sighed an put her feet up on Elm's desk, lounging back. "The old guy would be professor Samuel Oak." At Ethan's raised eyebrow she nodded. "The very same who betrayed our dear Emperor and raised a rebellion against him. Him and the woman are refugees from Kanto." She said matter of factly.

Ethan wore a shocked look, almost getting a smile out of Lyra. "I thought Kanto was cut off from Johto. They can't be." He said.

Lyra snorted and said. "Someone forgot to tell them that." She pulled her feet off the desk and pulled herself in. "Elm seems to know him; and trust him for that matter. That's good enough for me." She stood up and stretched, audibly cracking her back. "Come on, looks like they're done talking." She walked out of the office with Ethan in tow.

"Ah Ethan, I'd like to introduce you to an old co-worker of mine. This is Professor Samuel Oak." Professor Elm jabbered rapidly.

Professor Oak looked Ethan up and down, sizing him up. Ethan puffed up, determined to impress. Oak broke into a smile and stuck out a hand. "Hello there Ethan, Robert here tells me that you're very capable as a trainer. I might have use of your skills."

Ethan smiled at the flattery. "I'm more of a breeder, it's more profitable to sell pokemon to the highest bidder than it is to raise them. I've got a whole ranch just south of Goldenrod. Most of my stock are there. Right now I've only got Torch with me."

His cyndaquil puffed up at hearing its name. It flared the fire on its back and spat a jet of flame into the air, showing off. A disapproving glare from Ethan put a stop to his little show.

Oak smiled at him. "Well regardless, I have a job for you if you're willing."

Ethan smiled at the prospect of a new job. He was always excited for a chance to earn a bit more cash. "What's the pay?" He asked casually.

"Double your usual fee, plus a bonus if the job is done quietly." Elm said flatly.

Ethan couldn't help but let out a huge grin. "I'm in then. What am I doing and where am I going?" He said, almost gleefully.

Professor Oak took over the briefing, speaking in a calm manner. "All we need is for you to retrieve a pokemon egg for us. An old colleague of ours has been breeding this egg for years. We just received news that he's finally perfected his work. It should hatch within the month. However he is not capable of raising the pokemon at his lab. That task will fall to you, to be completed during your tenure here." He finished by adding another promise of more pay.

Ethan's grin grew even larger. "I'll take the job under one condition. On top of my pay, I want breeding pairs of totodile and chikorita, as well as a female cyndaquil. Elm, you're the only one who has any living specimens left." Ethan offered.

Without pause, Elm nodded his assent. "Our only condition is that you take Lyra with you to retrieve the egg."

Ethan accepted instantly, knowing how much money he could make off this deal. He immediately started his preparations, knowing the trip would last a few days. Lyra was a constant presence, wanting to ensure everything was perfect. The next day, at the crack of dawn, the pair walked out of the settlement and into the wilds.


	9. Darkness

The day and a half journey to Cherrygrove passed in a blur. For the most part, wild pokemon were deterred by Ethan's blade or bursts of flame from Torch. Lyra proved to be a useful companion with her massive knowledge of medicinal herbs and unbridled enthusiasm at being away from her home. Her sentret proved itself by constantly supplying the pair with any kind of berry or herb it could find, alongside a myriad of oddly shaped rocks and twigs that Lyra tossed as soon as she was sure that her pokemon was out of sight.

Another day passed, bringing them nearer to their destination. Ethan couldn't help but catch himself being impressed with Lyra's massive amounts of knowledge about the local wildlife and flora. She was seated across from him, smiling and scratching her sentret behind its ears. Her marrill was busy splashing around in the pond next to their camp.

Ethan spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. "So have you ever actually been out of New Bark?"

She looked surprised by the sudden question. Ethan hadn't bothered to ask her much about herself, instead droning on about pokemon he'd raised at his ranch. "Other than a few supply trips to Cherrygrove, no. This is actually the farthest away from home that I've ever been." She said happily.

"So what do you think of the world? Does it live up to its reputation?" He asked with a quizzical look on his face.

She shook her head furiously. "Daddy always told me that the world was dangerous and unforgiving. That if I strayed too far away from the settlement, bandits or wild pokemon would attack me."

Ethan gave a small chuckle. "Well there's no easy way to put it. He was right. The world isn't a nice place. You've just been lucky enough to live in a relatively peaceful area. Kanto is a hellhole, and everything west of Ecruteak is just as bad.. Don't even get me started on how bad the Orange Islands are. That's not even mentioning the other regions. Unova and Hoenn don't have a central government that keeps any semblance of order. Kalos' Queen is too busy putting down uprising after uprising by all the robber barons there to provide any real security for her people. Sinnoh is probably the safest place in the world in the moment, if you can stand the religious nut-jobs that run the place. Then there's Orre…" He trailed off, almost shuddering.

"What's wrong with Orre?" Lyra piped up.

Ethan grimaced. "People there are raised from birth to worship their twisted prince-gods. They aren't exactly friendly towards anyone who questions their beliefs. Most prefer to answer questions with weapons." He finished, looking uncomfortable with speaking about Orre.

Lyra looked as if she had something to say for a moment, then changed it the moment Ethan caught a glimpse.

"Spit it out, I can tell you have something to say." Ethan sighed.

"You speak as if it's from memory. As if you've been to all these places." Lyra blurted out.

Ethan gave a smile at that. "It's because I have Lee. Dear old dad had a metric fuckton of pokemon and enough cash to afford a ranch. I just took what he left me and used it to get ahead in life. I've been everywhere a man can be, sold pokemon to everyone who had the cash to afford it."

Lyra gave a sheepish grin. "I've actually been meaning to ask you something." She said quietly. When he nodded, she continued. "Your last name is Gold. Are you the Ethan Jr? Son of the revolutionary?"

He grinned ear to ear. "The one and only. Ethan Alexander Gold the second, at your service." He said proudly.

"I thought Lance wiped out every family member of the revolution's leaders he got his hands on. You aren't quiet about your identity, so how'd you survive?" Lyra asked, bringing an even larger grin to Ethan's face.

"Lance wouldn't kill his only reliable source of battle-bred dragons, now would he?" Ethan said with a devilish grin. "I was ten when the rebellion started. I'd already started breeding pokemon for the Goldenrod police by that age. Lance offered me my life along with my grandparents, if I agreed to breed dragons for him. I was paid well, and told it would continue so long as he was my only customer for the dragons."

Lyra wore a troubled look. She opened her mouth twice before shaking her head and staying silent. They sat in silence for a while, neither of them speaking. Lyra finally broke the silence with an angry burst. "So you're providing the man who killed thousands of innocents and struck down your father with the most powerful pokemon you can breed. Please tell me what wisdom led you to that conclusion?"

Ethan was taken aback by her outburst. "Don't you dare judge me Lee. I did what I had to. I kept my family together. If that means that I sleep with my enemy, then that's what I do. My family is everything to me, and I would do anything to keep them safe. Judge me if you will, but everything I've done has been for them." He pulled Torch's ball out of his pack and released his cyndaquil. "I'll take watch tonight, you better get some rest."

When he didn't say anything else, Lyra rolled away from him and recalled her pokemon. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought she could hear the sounds of Ethan sobbing quietly.

* * *

Jay was floating. His eyes shot open violently, breaths not reaching his lungs. He clutched at his throat, convulsing. He felt something touch his chest, cold spreading out from that point. His convulsions stopped, along with the burning in his lungs. He opened his eyes to a sight he dreaded. The dark world was back, along with it, the swirling mess of spirits.

The two regarded each other for minutes, the only source of sound, Jay's ragged breathing. The spirit finally broke the silence. "You have done well Jason. Much better than we could have ever hoped." It's voice was the same as before, grating into Jay's ears with a force that made him want to run and hide. "Your role has been fulfilled. Misty is alive."

Jay perked up despite the oppressive voice. "I went back for her, I fell too. I heard her screaming." He shouted out in agony as his brain throbbed. "I can't remember what happened. It's like it's blocked."

The spirit tapped his forehead with a ghostly arm. A soothing cold spread from the point, stopping the pounding in Jay's head. "You have blocked the moment of your death. It is common for mortals to block their passing."

Jay's heart dropped at the spirit's words. He opened his mouth to say something, but words wouldn't form on his tongue.

"We must leave you. You have played your part Jason. You will be remembered." The spirit disappeared into the swirling miasma, taking its oppressive voice with it.

Jay closed his eyes, finding peace in the silence. Time passed, seeming like eons to the young trainer. He didn't know how long it had been when he heard the voice. It was soft and soothing, reminding him of lullabies from his mother. It grew steadily, always soft but growing until it drowned out the sounds of the swirling chaos around him. The voice suddenly stopped, stopping all noise of the storm along with it.

Jay opened his eyes to something he hadn't expected in his wildest dreams. A withered old crime sat on a rocking chair, both of them floating through the miasma. The storm seemed to calm around her, emanating an aura of extreme power. The old lady cracked a smile, revealing a set of gnarled teeth. She spoke in a high pitched tone, cackling between words. "Well dearie, looks like we've got ourselves into some trouble. How did a handsome, strapping young fellow such as yourself end up in the world of the dead?" She leaned back in her chair, humming to herself absentmindedly. Before Jay could say a word, she started again. "Don't feel the need to answer me my dear, I already know why you're here. I've just come to send you back."

Jay was wide eyed, staring at the crone. "Who are you?"

The crone cackled, loud and high. "I am the grey lady, and I still have use for you."

The world faded in Jay's eyes, turning pitch black. He blinked once, and was overcome with pain. Misty's frantic sobs were filling his ears. He opened his eyes. "I hate it when a pretty girl cries." Immediately, he felt her arms wrap around him, squeezing air out of his lungs. Her sobs didn't cease, only growing in strength. "It's ok Misty." He hugged back, not understanding or caring why he was alive, just happy to exist.

* * *

Lyra awoke to Ethan pouring water over the remains of the fire. He glanced at her. "Good, you're up. Pack up, we've got a long way to go and I'd like to get there today."

They wordlessly packed the camp, returned their pokemon and continued the journey. As awkward as the silence was, Lyra couldn't bring herself to mention the events of the previous night. So they walked in silence, only broken when Ethan pulled some bread from his pack for lunch. The miles melted away, every step bringing them closer to their destination.

It was mid-afternoon when they finally stepped into the lab. Mr. Pokemon turned out to be a wily old man who barely tolerated the pair. They had the egg stowed in a special carrying case within minutes and were on their way back to Cherrygrove before the sun had even dipped in the sky. The return journey to Cherrygrove passed without words or problems. They took refuge in the pokemon centre, Ethan paying for a pair of rooms for the pair.

Again Lyra was roused at dawn by Ethan, this time with insistent banging on the girl's door. Within the hour, the pair were back on the road; Ethan intent on making the whole trip in a single day. By the time they were nearing her home, Lyra's feet were throbbing and sore. Lyra's exhaustion was clear in her body language, back slouched and hear bowed. So when Ethan stopped abruptly she nearly ploughed into him from behind.

"Do you smell that?" He asked, cutting off Lyra before she could say a word. She sniffed at the air, then shook her head. "Smoke. There's something burning up ahead." He immediately turned and pointed at a tree on the side of the path. "Have your sentret climb that tree. Check for any plumes of smoke."

A minute later, the sentry pokemon returned, frantically motioning in New Bark Town's direction. Lyra took off like a rocket, ignoring her exhaustion in her desperation. What she saw when she reached the settlement horrified her. Elm's lab was a smoking shell, the roof torn apart by some terrible beast. Blue fire was crackling on the inside of the building, licking at the remaining supports. As she watched, the building collapsed in on itself, no longer able to stand under the raging flames.

Lyra dropped to her knees, tears already flowing down her cheeks. Ethan stood beside her, gaping at the destruction. "Lee…" She jerked away from him, swatting his hand off her shoulder. "We can't stay here Lee. It's too dangerous. Whoever did this could come back." She ignored his words, sobbing into the ground. He pulled her to her feet, and into a hug. "Everyone could still be alive. They could have left before whatever happened hit them. They'll contact us Lee. We need to make sure they can find us though."

"What's going to happen now?" She asked between sobs. "My home is gone…" She trailed off into more sobs.

Ethan held her at arms length, staring into her eyes to try and calm her. "You are going to go hide. Take cover in the trees over there. I'm going to go try and salvage anything I can. If anyone's still here, I'll find them."

She started struggling against his grip, pulling him closer. "You can't leave me. Don't go please."

He pulled her close, trying to comfort the girl. "I'm not going anywhere Lee. I promise you that. I'll come back." He pulled the egg out of the case strapped to his back. "I need you to take care of the egg for me. Elm thought it was important enough to send us to get it. We need to keep it safe."

She nodded, knowing he was right. She took cover in the brush, sitting back against a tree and crying softly to herself. The egg was clutched close, wrapped up in her arms.

Ethan strode off, making his way into the ruins of the town. He disappeared from Lyra's sight, before he got there. Soon after, she was alone. She waited for what seemed like an eternity before the sounds of Ethan stomping his way through the underbrush met her ears. She stood up abruptly, startling the breeder.

He had a pack slung over his shoulder, packed to the brim. A haggard look was etched on his face. "The lab was mostly cleared out. It looked like they had time to pack what they could carry." He pulled her to her feet and took the egg back, strapping the case back onto his pack. "Come on Lee. It's time to go."

She looked at the burning remains of her home.

"There's nothing left"

She shut her eyes. "There's nothing left…" She repeated.


	10. New Day

Jay struggled to his feet, Misty supporting him. His entire back throbbed in unison, causing him to let out a small whimper. He could barely see in the gloom, the only light coming from starmie's glowing jewel. What he could see made his heart drop. They were at the bottom of the pit, on the shore of an underground lake. He could barely make out the corpse of the massive rhydon they had fought laying on the shore several meters away from them. A smaller body lay beside it, shattered beyond recognition. Jay realized with a pang in his gut, that Billy had fallen before they had. Misty steadied him then let him go, allowing him to stand on his own.

"So…" He started. "The afterlife is more boring than I thought it would be." His attempt at humour derailed by the severity of the situation.

Misty cracked a smile, visible even in the small amount of light. "We're not dead Jay."

He looked up, any trace of where they had fallen from invisible from their position. "How the fuck did we manage that? We had to have fallen at least a couple hundred meters." He was wondering aloud.

Misty patted her pokemon, stroking one of its points. "Starmie here stopped us. It has psychic powers remember?" The jewel glowed brighter, bathing the pair in purple light. "It levitated us. You still hit the water harder than you'd have wanted to, and you'll probably be bruised to all hell for a few days."

"That would explain the throbbing in my back."

Misty frowned. "We've got to get out of here. The others won't risk climbing down here, they won't think there's a chance. We've got to get out of here ourselves."

"Can your starmie light up any brighter?" Jay asked.

"No, I'm surprised it's even managing this." Misty answered.

"Fuck, we need light."Jay pulled the blade on his hip out of its scabbard. He pulled the bedroll off his pack and wrapped it around the blade. "Is there any oil left in your lantern?"

Misty burst into laughter. "Wouldn't I have lit my lantern if it still worked?" She pulled a flask from her pack. "The lantern smashed so badly it won't light. Luckily I came prepared."

"You prepared for a hundred foot fall into a death pit?"

"Shut up and take the flask." Misty said, handing it to him.

Jay poured the oil out onto the bedroll, soaking it with the liquid. He felt at his hip, relief filling him as he found his pokemon's balls. His growlithe appeared in a flash of red light, lighting the cavern for a moment. "Growlithe, light this up for me." The dog barked a ball of flame, igniting the makeshift torch.

Misty shielded her eyes, the light harsh against her eyes. "At least we have light now."

They looked around, finding a hole in the wall. "Probably an onix tunnel." Jay said. "I don't see any other tunnels." He said while scanning along the wall. "Well, only one choice left to us."

Misty sighed. "Right about that one. Let's get moving."

The pair started towards the tunnel, their pokemon following close behind. They disappeared into the dark, leaving Billy and the rhydon's corpses behind.

* * *

Lyra woke with a start, sitting up violently and breathing heavily. Ethan's hand went immediately to her shoulder, confirming her reality. She pushed his hand off her, jerking away.

Ethan frowned at the girl. She still wasn't letting him in. She wasn't even letting her pokemon in, preferring to walk in silence and not even dare to release them from their balls. He knew why she had withdrawn from the world, and he couldn't blame her. "Lee…"

"Will you stop it with that? You know my name, how about using it?" She spat, venom in her voice.

"Lee, you've got to take it easy." The girl shot him a look, disgust clear. "Don't give me that look. You're blaming yourself. I've seen it before." Ethan stared back at her, determined to get through.

"How would you know what I'm thinking? You don't know me." She said.

"We talked every day for a month. Hell, you've barely left my side since I walked into that lab. I know you better than you think I do." Ethan's eyes never wavered, staring into Lyra's with intensity she'd never seen. "You're blaming yourself for not being there. Well I hate to break it down to you, but it wouldn't have changed anything. You could be dead or you could be on the run with them. The point is, we don't know what happened. Blaming yourself won't make anything better. It's just going to make you spiral."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "So am I spiralling?" She asked softly. Her head dropped, defeat setting into her features.

Ethan smiled grimly. "Sorry doll, but you're spiralling harder than I've ever seen. You won't talk to me and won't let your pokemon out. Fuck, you won't even eat. Lee, you're spiralling something fierce." He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "That doesn't mean you can't get better."

He was smiling warmly at her. "How do you know it gets better?" She asked, fear quivering in her voice.

"Because I got better. I've been through this. It doesn't get easier to deal with it, you just get stronger." Ethan answered with a reassuring grin.

"Everyone who cares about me is, at best, fugitives. At worst, they're all dead." She paused, courage wavering. Without warning, she broke down. Ethan pulled her into a hug immediately. "They're all gone…" She was sobbing into Ethan's shoulder, clutching him like her life depended on it. "Everything is gone…"

Ethan pushed her back, holding her at arms length. "I'm not gone Lee. I promised you that, remember?" She nodded. "Good. Now try breathing. In and out, slowly." When the girl slowed her breathing, Ethan smiled again. "Good, good. Just keep breathing for me. Everything's going to be alright."

"Everything's gonna be alright."

* * *

"Alright genius, now what?" Gary hissed at Ash. "We're in Cerulean! Now what the fuck was your plan? To hide in an alley all fucking day?"

"I don't fucking know Gary. I didn't count on our only lead to Bill falling into a bottomless pit." Ash hissed back, fury clear in his hushed tone. "I thought her sisters would help us."

"Well it looks like you were wrong. We can't leave the city, or walk openly down the street. Fuck, we probably can't even check in at the centre." Gary's voice was rising, growing in volume. "We are wanted men, Jay is dead, and who the fuck knows what happened to Gramps and the girls! Face fucking facts, you don't know what you're doing."

Ash launched at him, pinning Gary against the building behind him. Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he leapt off Ash's shoulder and rounded on Gary. A wild shove and a swing of Gary's fist bloodied Ash's nose.

Brock appeared back beside them, rounding the corner into the alley. "Shut up, the both of you. I could hear you out on the street." The pair stopped their fight, dropping into silence. They glared at each other, each waiting for a chance to continue. "I managed to get a message through to Daisy. If I remember my lessons, she's the oldest of the Cerulean sisters. She'll meet us at the pokemon centre tonight."

Gary looked away from Ash for a moment. "How do you plan on getting into the centre? It's probably controlled by the Rockets, and if not, we still have to get past at least three Rocket checkpoints."

Brock grinned at the pair. "You two used to be farmers right?"

Twenty minutes later, Ash and Gary were stuffed in the back of a hay cart.

"I hate you." Ash said dryly.

"Shut up and stay down." Brock shot back. He turned to face the front of the hay cart as Ash ducked back into the piles of hay. "Thank you cousin, Pewter will reward you for your help."

"S'no problem milord. Always happy to help family." The peasant was swaying back and forth, happily humming to himself. "Don't get too many of us Rock-men round here, too much water for our kind. Pa always said we had to look after our own." He took the reigns up and urged the golem strapped up to the cart forward.

"We only need to go to the centre." Brock said cautiously.

The farmer hummed happily and grinned at him. He didn't answer, and the two soon dropped into silence. The golem pulling the cart proved to be quicker than Brock had expected and they were quickly arriving at the first checkpoint on their route.

The cart ground to a halt, two a Rocket soldiers standing guard at the checkpoint. One of them slowly walked around the cart, glaring at Brock and the farmer.

"Name, occupation, destination." He ordered.

"M'name's Yoren. I be a farmer from up in the hills besides the mountain. We're just on our way to deliver hay to the centre." The farmer said, no hint of nerves in his voice. "Just brought one of me kin along to help."

"His name?" The Rocket asked.

"Jory" Brock said quickly.

The rocket stepped back, waving them forward. "Have a nice day gentlemen, don't forget to check in at the nearest checkpoint if you need anything."

The cart trundled forward, pulled by the grunting golem. The second they were out of earshot, Brock breathed a sigh of relief.

"Told you they wouldn't bother us." Yoren grinned. He returned to his humming, absentmindedly watching the buildings pass.

The scene repeated itself twice more with no issues. Both times, the Rockets let the cart through without any further questioning and to Brock's surprise, offered assistance with unloading the hay. The sun was starting to dip in the sky by the time they arrived at the centre. The boys piled out of the cart, offering Yoren assistance in unloading his cart. He simply smiled and refused, stating that the centre workers would be out any moment to help him. True to his word, within minutes there were several workers lifting the bales of hay off his cart. They emptied the cart in minutes, sending Yoren on his way with their thanks. Yoren bid them a farewell, then continued on his way, cart trundling over the cobblestone streets and out of sight.

* * *

"Is that sunlight?" Jay asked.

Their torch had long since burned out, forcing them to navigate by only the light of starmie's central jewel and brief burst of flame from growlithe. Now, with their eyes long since used to the gloom, the faint glow at the end of the tunnels inspired the first glimpse of hope they'd seen since their fall.

"Can't tell." Misty said, exhaustion overriding any emotion in her voice. "It's definitely brighter though."

"Misty, that's definitely natural light. I think we're safe." The giddiness in his voice took even himself by surprise. "We made it!"

The pair stepped out of the tunnel and onto a sheer cliff that sat across a river from Cerulean City. Their pokemon stepped out behind them, feeding off the excitement. Growlithe dashed in circles around them, barking madly. Nidorino abandoned its usual gruff demeanour in favour of nuzzling against Jay's leg, careful not to jab him with his barbs. Misty's starmie floated forwards, brushing one of its points against its trainer's hand.

"Well… There it is." Misty said, her voice tinged with sadness. "My home. I'm home." She rushed into a hug, knocking the wind out of Jay's lungs. "Thank you" She whispered.

Jay hugged back, preferring to say nothing and just enjoy the moment. A voice shot through his mind, sending pain down every extremity. He released Misty and dropped to his knees screaming incoherently. "Rip her apart! Tear her to pieces! Kill! Kill! Kill!" The voice mixed with his own until her couldn't tell which voice was his own. He felt something tearing at his face, ripping open skin and vaguely feeling something warm spilling over his hands.

Slowly, the voice faded and he became aware of Misty's hand on his chest. He was flat on his back, arms and legs splayed out in a spread eagled pose. Misty was looking down at him with a mixture of fear and concern marring her features.

"Okay…" He said, voice raspy and hoarse. "What the fuck just happened?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me." Misty said. "You just collapsed and started screaming. The only word I got out of it all was kill. You just kept screaming it." She laughed weakly. "Your growlithe nearly bit my head off when you fell. It thought I did something to you."

Jay didn't say a word, not even daring to open his mouth. He didn't understand what had happened. One moment he was simply enjoying the moment, the next he was clawing at his own head. He shut his eyes tightly, taking a moment and breathing. Without warning, he forced himself to his feet and stumbled a few steps. "Come on." He said with a single minded determination. "We need to get to Cerulean."

Misty just smiled at him, then followed him into the night without a word.

* * *

Violet City stood as the gateway to the Johtan heartlands. From it, travellers could reach Goldenrod, Azalea, and Ecruteak within only a few days of travel. Hundreds of people passed through the city every day,making it easy for Lyra and Ethan to get lost in the crowds. That was where Lyra found herself. Ethan was dragging her through the market, haggling for goods at every other stall and stuffing whatever he bought into his pack. He'd already been shopping for hours, and he still needed to go to the pokemon centre to have a few of his personal pokemon transferred to him for protection.

Ethan pulled her up to yet another stall, promising it was his last. Lyra barely paid him any attention, staring off into the sky. She was woken from her state by Ethan shoving an oversized black coat into her arms along with a simple dagger and sheath.

"What do I need these for?" She asked, following him as he started making his way towards the centre.

Ethan looked at her incredulously. "Protection?" He said. "The roads from here on out aren't as safe as the ones we've travelled so far."

"It's the middle of the summer… I'm not wearing that." Lyra said.

"You are unless you want a pokemon to decide you look like a little snack." Ethan shot back.

Lyra reluctantly donned the jacket, finding a layer of body armour lining the inside of it. "You couldn't have even got something more weather appropriate?" Lyra asked. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but it's not like it's cold out here."

Ethan shrugged. "The merchant didn't exactly have the greatest selection. It was that or nothing at all." He pulled the door of the centre open, letting Lyra in first. He handed Lyra Torch's ball. "Go get them checked out while I transfer my pokemon over." He then strode over to a terminal on the wall and started his work.

Lyra stepped up to the counter, placing the three balls she had on the surface. "Hello?" One of the nurses at work looked up. "I'd like to have my pokemon checked up on please?" The nurse behind the counter gave her a friendly smile and took the balls.

"I'll bring them back out in a few minutes honey." She motioned to the seats. "Please just take a seat while you wait." Lyra walked over to the chairs in the waiting area, taking a seat and taking her last moment of relaxation she would get for weeks.


	11. Dark Spectre

_A/N: I just realized that I haven't done one of these in a while. So I've got a few reviews that I've yet to answer. Withdrawnmadness, you're right. Ethan is older than Ash. I had some things in mind for him that I realized I just couldn't do if he was so young. You'll find out exactly how old he is in this chapter. In regards to the chapter length, if you feel like they should be longer, please let me know. I thought around 3000 words was good, but if you'd like them to be longer please let me know in a review._

* * *

"… So we'll have to go south and cut through Azalea." Ethan's voice roused Lyra from her half-awake state. "Were you even listening?" Ethan asked. Lyra shook her head sheepishly. Ethan let out a sigh of frustration before continuing. "I said that the road to Goldenrod is blocked right now. Apparently there's a horde of sudowoodo migrating at the moment. The last time they did this, Lance had to get off his throne and move them himself. Until he does that, we've got to cut south through Azalea." Ethan finished.

Lyra blushed embarrassedly. "Oh."

Ethan shook his head. "The pokemon back yet?" He asked.

Lyra shook her head before jumping up. The nurse was walking up to the counter, smiling pleasantly. "They are now." Lyra remarked.

"Your pokemon are in perfect health." The nurse said. "The cyndaquil in particular is impressive. They're rare enough to begin with, and seeing a young one that's already as powerful as he is is a treat."

Ethan smiled a thanks at her before taking the balls back. "It's always nice to hear good things about your work. Thank you m'lady." He handed Lyra her Pokemon back and slotted Torch's ball into the only slot left on his belt. He looked at Lyra, grinning. "Ready to hit the road?" He asked.

She nodded and left the centre, Ethan leading her towards the road to Azalea.

"I was hoping not to take this route." Ethan said. "It practically doubles our travel time, and takes us through some places I'd rather not go." He sighed, speaking with a resigned tone.

"You got your pokemon sent over from the ranch though, right?" Lyra asked, answered with a nod from Ethan. "So these places shouldn't be that dangerous right?" She added.

Ethan chuckled. "I wouldn't call them dangerous, as much as I would uncomfortable. My pokemon can handle just about anything around here easily. It's too bad that the road is blocked, you'd have enjoyed Johto's National Park."

"Oh, I know what that is!" Lyra said excitedly. "Lady Whitney commissioned it right? She had it built just after the rebellion. It's used to hold tournaments and competitions as well as also holding a wildlife preserve." Lyra finished, blushing slightly.

Ethan looked at her with a quizzical look. She blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "I've just read about it. I've always wanted to go. Whitney sounds like she's done something amazing for the community and it's all so exciting. I've heard that they even allow experienced trainers into the reserve sometimes for capture competitions." She finished her sentence, blushing even more.

"So are we a fan of the park?" Ethan asked, eliciting a nod from Lyra. "What kind of event would you go to if you had a chance?" He asked.

Lyra pondered for a moment before deciding. "Probably a competition. You hear so often about how terrible the world is. I think seeing people use their pokemon to create something beautiful would be nice."

Ethan nodded absentmindedly. "I can see the logic behind that." He stopped walking, and stepped over to the side of the road. "Well, we're out of the city. Time to let the team stretch their legs." He pulled the balls off his belt one by one, releasing a pokemon from each of them. A pair of rapidash materialized beside each other, one of them covered with bright blue flames instead of red ones. A tauros pawed at the ground, snorting challenges. Torch gravitated towards the rapidash, comforted by their fires. An altaria gently fluttered to the ground and immediately set to cleaning the cloudy feathers that adorned it's body. A xatu floated beside Ethan, eyes closed and preferring to levitate itself rather than actually fly.

"Dax, Mina!" Ethan called. The rapidash pair looked up slowly. "Come." Ethan ordered. The pair made their way over to the two humans. Ethan put an arm around the one with red flames and patted its side. "Lyra these are my two most prized pokemon. This is Thermodax. The one with the blue flames is Aurmina." Ethan smiled ear to ear. "I take it you've never rode a rapidash before?"

* * *

"This is amazing!" Lyra shouted over the wind rushing through her hair. Blue flames were wrapped around her, harmlessly licking at the air around her. Ethan was atop Dax, several feet behind her. They'd made good time on the backs of the rapidash, coming into view of Union Cave in less than half the day. Dax caught up, running evenly beside Mina.

"They need to rest. I'd rather not push them too hard, so pull off the road." Dax fell back, allowing Lyra to guide Mina off the road.

The flaming horse slowed to a walk before stopping and allowing Lyra to slip off her side. Lyra patted the pokemon's neck, earning a nuzzle for her efforts. "Good girl. You're so beautiful…" Lyra trailed off.

"She likes you." Ethan said, Dax poking his head over Ethan's shoulder. Ethan looked at the road, and by extension the cave it led to. "We're less than an hour from the cave if we walk. Ready to get moving?"

"Can't we sit and rest for a bit? You said it yourself, the rapidash need rest." Lyra said.

"No, we're already behind schedule. We need to cover as much ground as we can. If we're lucky, we'll be able to get through the cave before the sun comes up tomorrow. We can be at Azalea before the sun is at its peak tomorrow." Ethan said. He returned his pokemon to their balls and thanked them before looking at Lyra. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

* * *

The room that Brock had rented for the three of them was tiny. The bed dominated the room, itself not even able to fit one of them comfortably. So when a blonde haired woman stepped into the room, the three boys piled onto the bed, giving her room.

"Daisy I presume?" Brock asked.

She raised an eyebrow before speaking with a voice dripping in sarcasm. "You'd think the Lord of Pewter, with all its mineral wealth, would be able to afford a room that was bigger than a broom closet."

"I would have rented a bigger room if I hadn't had to bribe my way into the city." Brock said. "Let's get down to why you're here."

The woman leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Straight to business. I guess the rumours are true. Brock Takeshi is boring." She smirked smugly. "Well then, get on with it. Tell me why I'm here and why we couldn't have done this at my gym."

"We are here to help you. Team Rocket controls everything in this city. We want that to change." Brock said with a grin. "They're everywhere. The gym is too exposed for us to risk a meeting."

Daisy looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Going through that much trouble to contact little old me? This has to be good. Go on, I would like to hear whatever you've got planned."

Brock smiled. "The Rockets rule through fear. The common folk see the nobility rolling over and letting the Rockets have what they want. There can't be more than a few hundred around the city. I know they have a base across the river but the Lady Kasumi had thousands of soldiers who would fight and die for her. Where did those men go? They could defend the city easily against almost any force."

Daisy frowned. "Over to the Rockets' side. Fear of what happened to my mother happening to them is keeping them in line. There's no way I can rally enough men. I can't call my banners without appearing weak."

It was Ash that interrupted her. "So all we have to do is show them that the Rockets aren't invulnerable. How many men can you rally on your own?" He asked.

"Not even as many as there are Rockets in the city. That's not even counting the men across the river. Do you see why I haven't acted?" Daisy asked.

"We could try contacting the rebellion. They could offer you enough men to turn the tide." Ash said.

"I will not risk Lance's wrath by siding with the rebels. Cerulean must do this alone. My sisters have a few hundred men that will rally to them, but you'll find that convincing them to aid you in battle will be difficult." Daisy looked at them, nerves clear in her eyes. "I just want this to be clear. I'm not with you until you convince me we can win this thing with Cerulean in one piece. Until you get me the support I need, we do nothing." She said, the force in her voice clearly making it sound like an order.

Brock looked to the other two, nodding solemnly. He looked up at Daisy and nodded. "We'll get you your support. You get your sisters on board. We'll work on your bannermen." He stood up and held out a hand for Daisy to shake. "Pewter City stands at my back. An alliance between our two cities would be good for the both of us. I'd be willing to lend any aid you might need."

Daisy stood up, holder her hand out to Brock. "I'll agree to that. Allies then?" She shook Brock's hand watching him grin and nod at her.

* * *

Misty slid Jay down on the side of the bridge, easing him onto his own weight. He slumped back, leaning heavily on the bridge for support. She looked down at him then back at the way they'd come. "Growlithe! Nidorino!" The two pokemon bounded out of the chest high grass beside the bridge snarling at something inside. Growlithe barked a jet of flames, setting the patch on fire. Misty looked down at Jay, fear crossing her features.

His eyes were closed and head lolled back. He drew in a ragged breath and opened his eyes wildly. "Help." His voice croaked. "Misty get them off me." He swung wildly grabbing hold of something invisible. "Growlithe kill it!" He shouted, voice hoarse. The dog lunged, grabbing hold with jaws dripping with black blood. Globs of thick black blood flew from an unseen body, growlithe tearing into it. Jay held of for dear life as his growlithe blasted flames into whatever it held onto with its jaws.

Misty got a faint glimpse of purple mist and a pair of piercing eyes before growlithe banished the ghost with a jet of flame. Her hand dropped to the lone ball at her side and released the pokemon inside. Her starmie appeared in front of her before spinning around wildly to face her. "We're being attacked by ghosts, can you see them?" Her Pokemon answered by immediately letting out a blinding flash that blinded Misty. When her vision returned, she swallowed hard.

Two more of the round ghosts that she had seen were floating, circling nidorino and taunting it with blasts of dark energy. A third ghost glared down at the battle, barely visible. It flashed a mischievous grin at Misty then winked out of sight, disappearing into the night. The two orbs followed it, disappearing into blackness. A strained grunt reached her ears, telling her that Jay was attempting to stand.

"The fuck were those things?" Jay asked angrily. "They wanted in my head. Wanted to take me." He shuddered visibly. "They were so angry. I could feel it l. It was like the fury was pulsing out of them."

Misty put a hand on his shoulder, calming him. "I don't know what they were Jay. They're gone though. I don't think they liked my starmie that much." Her pokemon let out a low happy tone at it's mention. "Whatever they were, I think they were after you." Age looked at him, eyes hard and calculating. "We're not going to get to Cerulean tonight." She plopped down beside him, leaning against the underside of the bridge. "Get some sleep." At Jay's instant outburst, she stood up again. "I wasn't asking. Get the fuck to sleep or I'll put you there myself."

Jay closed his mouth, recoiling from Misty's words. For a moment he thought about arguing, but the ache in his brain won out. "You wake me halfway to dawn. We swap out our watch then."

"I'll think about it peasant." She said with a smirk. "Now shut your eyes or I'll do it for you."

* * *

The gates of Azalea were massive wooden creations, cut from trees that were hundreds of years old. They stretched into the treetops, brushing against the leaves of surrounding trees. Lyra stared up at them, an amazed expression clear on her face.

"Identification please." The voice came from a man wearing a mottled set of brown and green leather armour. He looked down at Ethan and Lyra with a painfully bored expression from his place on the ramparts.

Ethan pulled a card out of the folds of his pocket, speaking as he did. "Ethan Alexander Gold, age twenty-seven, citizen of Goldenrod City." He motioned to Lyra. "Lyra Winters, age seventeen, citizen of..." He paused for a second, hesitating. "Cherrygrove." He said, finishing his sentence. "Is there any particular reason there's a checkpoint set up here? Azalea was open to travellers the last time I was here."

The man looked down at them, scratching their names onto the list attached to the clipboard he held. "A new study. We're just keeping tabs on people coming into town." He looked up at the two. "Any pokemon traveling with you two?" Jay's nod gave him his answer. "Alright, the pokemon centre is on the main road. You can't miss it." He waved them through, motioning for the gate to open. The doors swung open. The guardsman smiled at them. "Welcome to Azalea. Have a safe trip."

Ethan smiled back. "If you could pass my name along to your lord and ask if he could meet me before I leave, that would be most appreciated."

The guard nodded. "I'll pass it along." He turned to the guardsmen manning the winch that closed the gates. "Close it up boys!"

The man's voice faded into the background as Lyra and Ethan walked into the city. Barely a dozen people passed them on the street, every one of them giving the pair of travellers a wide berth.

Azalea was small compared to the other Johtan cities, even compared to the western frontier cities. Barely over ten thousand people called it home, most of them choosing to live outside the city walls and on the edges of the Ilex Forest. The city itself was only prominent because of its location. It served as a crucial role as the region's raw materials producer. The Ilex Forest loggers used the city as a base from which to work. The city also played host to the miners that worked in the depths of Union Cave.

Ethan and Lyra walked in silence, reaching the pokemon centre within minutes. They stepped into the building, surprised at what met them. The building was packed to the brim with trainers, all of them with the same dejected look on their faces. The nurses behind the counter were rushing about, frantically tending to the massive number of injured pokemon they had.

"Get us a room. I'll try to figure out what the hell's going on." Ethan said with a grim look on his face. He pointed at the terminal on the wall. "Check in on that. It'll let you skip the line. Use my name, and for the love of Ho-Oh please try to get a room with two beds." He patted her shoulder, frowning deeply. "I'll be back before too long."

"Where are you going?" Lyra asked.

Ethan shrugged. "I'm gonna start at the Gym, but who knows where I'll end up from there." He saw the look of nervousness on her face. "Don't worry Lee, I'll be fine. I've got my team here remember? What could possibly go wrong?" He walked out of the centre leaving Lyra alone in the centre.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you to everyone who read this. As of right now, this story has his 1300 views, and every chapter brings a couple hundred more. Big thanks to everyone who left a review, I love you all. If you didn't leave one, don't worry I still love you... But I'll love you more if you take 5 minutes and tell me what you think. In all seriousness, please leave a review, it helps me know what my audience is thinking about the story, and how it could be better. Square out!_


	12. Gathering Strength

_A/N: Thanks to Tbroome for your kind words. I've thought about focusing on one group only for each chapter, but I find that I get burned out on certain characters and events in stories when I focus too much on them. I've focused more on the Cerulean group this chapter, so let me know if you think I should fully convert to focusing on one group at a time. I'll try to make these a bit longer, but I don't have a ton of time to write because of work. Thanks again for reading! And please leave me a review to let me know what you guys think!_

"Just give Bugsy my name. Ethan Gold from Goldenrod. We're old friends, he'll see me." Ethan shouted at the guardsmen that stood at the doors of the gym. "I gave him the damn scyther that's always following him around. I swear to whatever gods you pray to, he will see me."

The guard on the left side of the door shook his head. "His lordship is indisposed at the moment. When he has the time, he will see you."

Ethan massaged his temples, cupping his face with his hands. "His lordship will make the time for me if you just give him my name. It'll take you less than two minutes to go in there and tell him that Ethan Gold is outside."

The other guard shuffled his feet, shifting his weight. He glared at Ethan, eyes scanning the breeder's features. "Unless you've got the bloody emperor in your pack, you aren't getting through these doors."

The doors of the gym burst open, a young man followed by a scyther charging out. A pair of older men, one of them sporting a stomach that swayed side to side as he ran, following him. The young man skidded to a stop, spinning and beaming at Ethan. "Ethan?" He asked incredulously.

"Good to see you Bu…" Before he could finish, the boy's fist buried itself in Ethan's stomach. He doubled over, dropping to a knee. He coughed and looked up at the boy. "I deserved that." He stood up, staring Bugsy in the eyes. "When did you learn how to throw a punch?" He asked with a smile.

"Right after you left, old man." Bugsy shot back. "I had to practice for you."

Ethan put his hand over his heart and feigned weakness. "Oh you wound me kid." He dropped the act. "Try again when I hit thirty, maybe then that one might have an effect on me."

Bugsy shook his head while smiling. "So? What brings you to Azalea? I distinctly remember you saying that nothing and nobody interesting ever came to Azalea."

Ethan chuckled. "Well I'm here, so clearly that's not true." Ethan said before turning to more serious matters. "I was actually hoping you could tell me why travellers are being catalogued at the gates. On top of that, the centre is packed to the breaking point so it's obvious you aren't letting anyone leave."

Bugsy gave a weak smile. "Is it that obvious?" Ethan nodded, bringing a grimace to Bugsy's face. "It's the Rockets. They've seized Slowpoke Well."

One of the elder men recoiled. "My Lord, we agreed that we wouldn't be telling outsiders about this. We don't want to cause any unnecessary panic among the commoners."

Bugsy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes Captain, you did suggest that this could cause that reaction. However I don't recall agreeing with you." Bugsy glared at him with barely concealed fury. "Ethan Gold is a well respected member of the Goldenrod community. He might not have the long family history that you do, but his blood is every bit as noble as yours. He is not a commoner."

Ethan glanced between the two of them with an amused smirk on his face. "Well how about them apples?" He turned away from the captain and towards Bugsy. "You want my help with kicking the Rockets out of your territory?" The younger lord nodded. "Then fill me in. I want to know everything about what the Rockets are doing here, down to what they're eating and how many shits they take."

* * *

"Good morning!" Misty's voice was high and cheerful, despite her missed night of sleep. "Feeling ok?" She asked, noticing the pained look on Jay's face.

"Head hurts." He grimaced. "What happened last night? It feels like I picked a fight with the ground." He gritted his teeth as the pain in his head flared. "A particularly hard part of the ground." His head throbbed again. "And it hit back like an angry herd of tauros."

Misty laughed before shaking her head. "No, you just got yourself into a fist fight with a ghost."

Jay shook his head. "Why am I not surprised? First I fall into a pit of death, then I get mauled by ghosts. I swear, the shit I took last night has better luck than me." He sighed. "Can we get to Cerulean today?"

Misty nodded with a smile. "If we make good time, we should be there before mid-day." Her smile faltered. "I meant to ask last night, but I forgot. You were holding the ghost. Your hands were actually gripping it. How the fuck did you do that?"

Jay frowned. "I just grabbed it and held on so growlithe could get at it. Other people can't do that?"

Misty shook her head. "No. Normal people can't do anything like that. Normal people can't even see them without help. If there's anyone who could, they'd probably be in Lavender Town." She yawned and looked up at the sun. "Come on, we should get moving." She stood up, pulling her pack over her shoulder.

Ethan followed her, struggling to his feet, still exhausted despite the night of rest. He whistled for growlithe and hefted his pack onto his shoulder, the pokemon answering with a happy bark. "C'mon boy. We're gonna get you a nice treat when we get to the city." The dog barked happily, salivating heavily.

"Shut up, get down." Misty hissed. She ducked against the side of the bridge, peering over the top. Jay silently moved to her side, returning growlithe to his ball silently. "There's men on the bridge." She paused for a moment, counting the men before ducking back down beside Jay. "Six of them, at least one of them is a Rocket. They've all got pokemon with them."

"Fuck." Jay swore silently. "How're we gonna get by them?" He asked.

"Swim along the underside of the bridge?" She suggested.

Jay shook his head. "I can't swim. Even if I could, wouldn't they hear us?"

Misty looked down at the ground, thinking. The voices grew in volume, coming closer. She brought a single finger to her lips to shush Jay, listening intently.

"I don't care how many men you lose commander, I need results." The voice was high and cruel, any trace of emotion long since disappeared.

"But…" A gruff voice started before it was cut off by the other.

"No excuses. I'm under enough scrutiny without you fucking up. The rebels are out here. We both know it. If your men can't find them, then perhaps I hired the wrong man." The cruel voice was taunting.

Misty heard a sigh of frustration, and a the gruff voice growing closer. "Fuck, just give me a month. We've run into their patrols on the cape. If you would give me some of your men then I could have them within the week."

"No excuses commander. I want the location of that base by next week…" The voice paused. "Or perhaps I will make an example of you to motivate your men. It is so easy to keep order through fear you know." He strode off, storming down a path cut in the grass Jay and Misty had come out of the night before.

The gruff voice waited until he was out of sight then swore. "Fucking asshole." He turned to the men following. "Get to your squads, keep combing the cape. Try to take a prisoner if you run into a patrol this time."

One of the men raised an eyebrow at his command. "Sir? With all due respect, why don't you tell that guy to fuck off?"

The commander sighed. "Because they're paying us a shitload of money. We find the rebels and we live like kings for the rest of our lives."

The other man shook his head. "Just ask yourself if it's worth it."

The commander rounded on the other man angrily. "Do you think I wanted to take this contract? I wanted nothing to do with the Rockets! They offered us so much money that if I'd turned them down, the men would've been out for my blood." He sighed heavily. "Just go help organize the search. The sooner we finish this job the better."

The other man lingered for a moment before following the other men towards Cape Cerulean. The commander stalked off in a different direction, muttering to himself.

Misty waited until he was out of earshot then looked at Jay with an evil smirk. "I think I have an idea. You probably aren't going to like it though."

Jay groaned. "Just lay it on me. I doubt whatever it is could be worse than what happened last night."

She smiled at him. "We're going to have a chat with that merc. He's going to help us take back Cerulean."

Jay frowned. "Did you miss the part where he's working for the Rockets?" He asked.

Misty just smiled.

* * *

Brock, Daisy and her sisters stood around the table in Daisy's war room. Daisy and her sisters had gathered what bannermen they could. Far fewer men than Brock had hoped had answered Daisy's call, most of them only to declare their loyalty to her without actually committing any forces. He huffed in frustration as yet another man spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but the Rockets are simply too powerful to oppose. They have forces within the city and surrounding it." The portly man said. He wore the all too familiar look of feigned concern that Brock had seen too much of today. "If more were done to secure the city then we would openly declare ourselves. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that all of us want the Rockets pushed out as much as you do. However, we stand no chance against them."

Daisy spoke up, frustration clear in her voice. "I thank you for your kind words Lord Galbert. However I need more than just your words. I need your men, and their assistance in defending our city. You have a thousand men at your call. They could well be the tipping point in our favour."

Lord Galbert smiled serenely. "I apologize my Lady. I cannot commit my men to a cause that is so fraught with danger. The fact is, open opposition towards the Rockets is simply too dangerous."

Brock's fist slammed into the table, interrupting him. "Enough!" His steely gaze jumped from one noble to the next, fury in his eyes. "Did none of you come here to support your liege? Are all of you so cowardly that you run with your tails between your legs at the slightest sign of trouble? You are the nobles of Cerulean! Act like it! Prove that the oaths you swore to this woman were more than just idle words." He looked at the lords of Cerulean, his barely contained fury no longer hidden. "I have not sworn a single oath to this woman, but I am the one who has done the most for her." He unclenched his fists and took a breath. "Remember my lords, words are wind. It is action that has meaning. Prove that you mean to back up the oaths you swore with action."

The lords in the room shifted uncomfortably. Lord Galbert was the one to break the silence. "The Lord of Pewter has a point. I swore an oath to defend your mother my Lady. I failed in that. I will not have my word mean nothing." He turned towards Daisy and drew his sword. "I offer you my blade. My sword shall strike down your enemies, while my shield defends you from them. Will you accept my gifts?" He finished his declaration with the question, pointing all eyes towards Daisy.

She took a breath, then regarded the room. Her eyes rested on Galbert, and she took a breath. "I accept them with gratitude my lord. Never have I appreciated a gift so much." She looked at the other men in the room. "Is anyone else with us?" She asked.

As one, the rest of the room unsheathed their blades and held them out to her. Brock grinned and looked at the woman. He smiled to himself, impressed with the woman. The Lady of Cerulean, bowed her head, her action returned by her vassals. Brock leaned forwards, studying the men in the room. "If everyone here is in agreement, then I say it's high time that we get down to strategy."

Daisy looked at him, her face a mask of seriousness. "Well then, you're the most experienced strategist we have here. Show us what you have."

Brock smiled and cracked his knuckles. "It would be my pleasure my Lady."

* * *

"This is a terrible idea." Jay complained. "He's working for the Rockets, how do we know he won't just turn your ass over to them?"

"Misty shook her head. "Did you hear his voice too? He doesn't like working for them at all. He's already looking for a way out of the contract, and I'm gonna give him one hell of a reason." She motioned for him to follow, dashing towards where the commander had disappeared to.

Jay swore and ran after her, looking over his shoulder to check that they hadn't been noticed. He caught up to Misty, taking cover in the grass beside the path with her blade unsheathed. "Where is he?" He asked, his question answered before Misty could say a word.

He was standing on the other side of the path, relieving himself into the grass. "Ahhhhh, that's good." He pulled his pants back up, zipping them closed. He turned around, noticing the two in the grass. He froze, then slumped into a resigned stare. He knelt down and rubbed his hands in the dirt, then stood up and dusted them off. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Are you just gonna stand there pointing your knife at me or are you gonna get it over with?"

Misty swallowed and cleared her throat. "Sword on the ground now. No sudden movements or I'll gut you like a magikarp." When he didn't move to comply, Misty put more force into her words. "Now! Don't make me repeat myself."

He sighed and pulled his sword from its scabbard. He dropped it into the dirt beside him, glaring at Misty. "So? I'm disarmed. Now what? You demand my money and then kill me because I have none?" He folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side, studying Jay. "You look like hell kid. Have a run in with a herd of tauros or something?" He looked to Misty next. "And half pint here looks like she'd cut your balls off if they got near her." He laughed. "Taken prisoner by the strangest pair of bandits I've ever seen. Mew help me, I'm going soft."

Misty stamped her foot, getting his attention. "Shut up and listen, because I've got an offer and I'm only gonna say it once. Otherwise I kill you and go find one of your men who's more willing to listen."

"Short stuff has a temper?" The merc said, surprised. "Well by all means, go ahead. It's not like I'm in a position to disagree."

Misty huffed in frustration then took a breath. "I know you're the commander of a mercenary force that's searching cape cerulean for a rebel base. I happen to know where that base is. I'm willing to share that information with you, for a price."

"Misty?! What the fuck? You ca…" Jay exclaimed cut off by a curt glare from Misty.

"I can and I will. I don't give a fuck about the rebellion, and if you're being honest with yourself neither do you." She said coldly, eyes hard. "The only thing I care about is Cerulean. If I can get my city back at the cost of a few hopelessly naïve souls then I make that choice in a heartbeat." She turned back to the merc, ignoring Jay. "Well?"

He raised an eyebrow and regarded Misty. "Alright kid, I'm listening. What's your price?"

She smiled. "All your men and a way into the Cerulean Gym."

* * *

Brock stepped into the tiny room, a smug grin on his face. Ash barely looked up from pikachu, continuing to scratch the back of his pokemon's head in a resigned silence. Gary looked up at him, greeting him with a nod.

"Anything good?" Gary asked.

Brock smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Plenty. We've got support. I doubt it's enough, but it's a start. The other nobles will come around once they realize that we've rallied some serious support to kick the Rockets out."

Gary looked down at Ash. "Who'd we get?" He asked, not looking up.

"Lord Rylen Galbert is the big catch. He's got over a thousand men pledged to him. Granted most of them are just farmers, but that's still a thousand more men than we had yesterday." Brock smiled while he spoke.

"Anyone else?" Gary asked.

Brock's smile morphed into a smile almost immediately. "A few minor lords from the valleys to the east. Barely four hundred men in between them." Brock sighed and sat heavily beside Gary. "Hopefully it's enough to sway more to join us." He looked down at Ash. "What's wrong with him?" He asked.

Gary shrugged. "I don't know. Probably guilty about what happened to Jay and Misty. Ash's always been like that." Gary looked up and yawned. "We haven't really had any time to ourselves since it happened. Without something to do, he's just been sitting there thinking. They were best friends. I can't say I wouldn't be acting the same way."

"I can hear you." Mumbled Ash. "It's not like I'm deaf. Stop talking to me like I'm not in the room."

Gary smiled and put his hand on Ash's shoulder. "I know bud. You gonna get up and do something about it?"

Ash sighed and closed his eyes. "Just don't bother me."

 _A/N: On a side note... 1500 views! That's amazing and without all of you beautiful readers, it would never have been possible. Thank you!_

 _And on another side note, the NHL season is underway! As a self-loathing Leafs fan I kinda have to pick an actually decent team this year. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears. Sqcircles out!_


	13. Future's Sight

_A/N: First, I've got a pair of reviews to respond to!_

 _Tbroome, you asked how much support Misty would be able to gather if Daisy is having trouble with it. You perfectly caught on to what I'm trying to do with that. That arc is going to be huge for Misty's character, and by extension Jay (that pair is right behind Ethan/Lyra in terms of how much I like them). Misty is going to need a very big reality check soon, and guess who's gonna give it?_

 _LordGeo, your analogy of watching several shows at once was good. But I hope you don't mind that this chapter is pretty much all about Ethan._

 _Finally, this chapter is the introduction of a character that I've been excited to write since I started this story. I'm seriously thinking about calling him my favourite after just writing one chapter with him. Also, I think I might have written my best action sequences this chapter. Please leave me a review letting me know what you guys think, I'll be back with the Cerulean arc next time! Sqcircles out!_

* * *

Lyra opened her eyes, glaring at the ceiling. She looked over at the prone forms of her pokemon, hearing the faint sounds of their snores, then huffed in frustration and rolled onto her side. Ever since Bugsy had taken her and Ethan into his gym, she'd done nothing but lay around and rest. Ethan had refused outright to let her help with whatever was happening in Slowpoke Well.

"Sorry Lee, but face facts." He'd told her. "We're going up against hardened thugs in a place that they've had time to fortify. I wouldn't feel comfortable bringing you into a war zone. When she'd pointed out that Bugsy wasn't more than a year older than her, he'd retorted by going through the extensive training Bugsy and his pokemon put themselves through. So that's where she found herself. Constantly pushing herself and her pokemon to become stronger. So far, her efforts had only resulted in numerous bruises from Azalea's resident master-at-arms. Her pokemon had fared little better in their sessions with Bugsy's top trainer.

She sighed an rolled back to look at her pokemon. Her sentret was curled up against her marrill's side, hugging the water-type's tail. Despite not being species built for combat, the two had made up for their noticeable lack of durability with a surprising amount of speed and agility.

Ethan had barely been around since they'd moved into the gym, constantly training in the practice yard or out on yet another scouting run. He barely slept, giving him a gaunt look whenever Lyra managed to get a glimpse of him. Their only real time together was at the few meals Ethan was actually in Azalea for. Those few meals were filled with constant updates on Lyra's progress, or any new information Ethan had managed to turn up.

It was frustrating for her. Her world had completely collapsed when New Bark was destroyed. The only part of her old life that had survived was Ethan. Now, even he was drifting away. It saddened her. Ethan was her friend, and outside of her pokemon he was her only friend. It wasn't right that she should lose the only human contact she had left. Yes, he frustrated her. Yes, he had done things she found despicable. But he was her friend, and she didn't want to lose that.

She sighed angrily and pulled the blanket up to her neck. Pushing all the painful thoughts out of her head, she forced herself to a restless sleep.

In a different section of the gym, Ethan and Bugsy were poring over the information they'd gathered so far. Ethan was studying the head scout's report with a single minded determination, while Bugsy ran over the troop numbers in his head.

Ethan looked up from the report, frustration marking his face. "Looks like the Rockets have been busy in Kanto. At least half the major cities are under Rocket control, and it looks like they've got plans to march on the others." He snorted and burst out laughing. "Oh that's rich. The Takeshi family beat back a Rocket siege and massacred a force that was camping out under Mount Moon."

Bugsy looked up from his papers. "You know them?" He asked.

Ethan nodded. "I know the heir of the family. He's a tough bastard, likes to use rock-types. I sold him a few young onix for his siblings a few years back." Ethan chuckled. "Taught me a few things about raising rock-types. I doubt that there's a person alive who knows more about rock-types than him."

Bugsy sighed. "Anything in there we can use?"

Ethan shook his head, still scanning the report. "It's a ton of information about their operations in Kanto." He paused briefly, reading quickly. "Looks like Cerulean is under martial law, some kind of massive manhunt." He looked up at Bugsy with a massive grin. "We got lucky kid. They're diverting troops out of Johto. Some kind of civil war broke out in Saffron City. It says here that they're going up against an extremely powerful psychic. From the tone of their report, she's tearing them a new asshole over there."

Bugsy looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "What does that mean for us?" He asked. "I doubt they'll pull that many men off an active operation."

Ethan shook his head, still grinning. "It explains the number of men we've seen leaving the well in the last few days. Some of them will have just been regular patrols, but I'd say that they're down at least a hundred men from their number."

Bugsy rubbed his temples. "A hundred less than what though? We still don't know how many men are down there."

"Won't know until we do some real recon." Ethan said pointedly.

Bugsy glared at him. "With only one way in, I'm not risking any men finding out what they're doing down in that well."

"Technically I'm not one of your men."

"The answer is no Ethan."

"I didn't recall asking."

Bugsy threw his hands in the air in frustration. "So you'll throw your life away in the vain hope you get us some useful intel?"

Ethan faked a wounded expression. " I really thought I was a better trainer than that." He deadpanned.

Bugsy laughed. "Even you can't take on a whole army of Rockets by yourself."

Ethan shook his head. "I'm not on my own. I've got my pokemon."

"Not my point Ethan." Bugsy stated. "You aren't going in alone."

"Then give me some men." Ethan said forcefully. "A dozen of your best, and I can get whatever intel you need. We'll be in and out of the well before they know what hit them."

"I told you no." Bugsy said, anger seeping into his tone.

"Then I'll go alone." Ethan shot back.

Bugsy sighed and dropped into silence. He waited a moment before speaking. "You know, you're more stubborn than a tauros sometimes."

Ethan smiled at him. "I'd say that's one of my best qualities."

Bugsy shook his head. "Fine then, you've got my men. Recon only though! If the Rockets hit back, you get your ass out of there as fast as you can."

Ethan nodded. "This isn't my first rodeo kid, and I doubt it'll be my last."

* * *

"M'lord, it looks like they're changing the guard. The men are ready at your word." Bugsy's head ranger said to Ethan, nervously fondling the pommel of his blade.

Ethan stood up, pulling a pair of gloves over his hands. "Help me with this damn thing." He said, fiddling with the heavy combat vest Bugsy had given him. "Fucking thing is so heavy, I don't know if I'm wearing it properly."

The ranger looked him over, checking the straps. "Looks good M'lord."

Ethan sighed. "Then I guess we're ready." He pulled a ball off his belt and released the rapidash within. "I trust you can coordinate the men on foot?" He asked the man. A quick nod was his answer. "Alright then, I'm trusting you with that." He turned to the rest of the rangers. "Who here has a mount?" Four hands raised. "Alright, you four stay on my ass. We're gonna hit the guards while they're looking the other way. We'll be in the middle of the fight, so stay sharp."

The head ranger spoke up. "Any questions boys?" Nobody answered him. "Then do Azalea proud."

The four men with mounts followed Ethan, leaving the men on foot behind. They circled the well, making sure to stay in the trees and out of sight. Finally, they stopped, Ethan releasing his xatu.

"Ethan Alexander, if you ever confine me to that dank prison again I will see to it that your mind is a puddle the next time I get out." The pokemon's bored tone said in Ethan's head. "Oh." It said, surprised. "Thermodax would like you to know that he wants an apple."

"Not now Eon. You can threaten my life after we've finished." Ethan said. "Dax you can have all the apples I can find when we're done." He looked back to the xatu. "Will you help us?"

"Very well." Replied the exasperated voice. "What does the human require now?"

"Can you distract those men? Or make us invisible or something?" We need to charge them without them noticing us." Ethan said.

The xatu bowed it's head. "There are a dozen of them." When Ethan didn't respond, the xatu sighed. "As you wish, my master."

Ethan and the rangers shimmered then faded from sight, leaving their pokemon and equipment visible. Ethan glared at his pokemon. "Eon!" He shouted.

"You must be more specific then." The xatu bowed it's head and the force faded from sight. "I would suggest moving quickly. My illusions will become less powerful the farther you are from me."

"We talked about this Eon, you're helping me fight." Ethan said with a scolding tone.

The xatu sighed. "I've told you that I cannot. My purpose is to watch the future, not to change it. I can indirectly aid your future, but direct action would pollute the visions too much."

Ethan shook his head, staring at the ground. "At least mess with their minds a little bit. Make things easier." He said.

His xatu's eyes glowed bright purple, then flashed back to their original green. "Their condition will not last long. That is all you will get from me Ethan Alexander. I will not change the future any further." The xatu looked down his beak at Ethan. "Now, leave me be. I must study the changes to the future my actions have had."

Ethan grinned. "Sure thing Eon. I'll be back when we're done. Don't run off on me."

"That would change the future. It would defeat the whole purpose of studying my actions." The xatu droned, obviously annoyed.

Ethan turned away from his pokemon, facing the Rockets at the well. "Are we ready to move men?" He asked. A mixed cry of four pokemon and men answered him. "I guess that's a yes. Let's move boys!" He pulled his way on top of Thermodax and dug in his heels. The rapidash shot off like a rocket, followed quickly by the rangers. They crossed the open ground in seconds, driving into the disoriented Rockets from the side.

Ethan brought his blade down, cleaving into a neck. He ripped the blade out with a spurt of blood, urging Dax onward. The rapidash reared up, bringing his front hooves down onto the head of another Rocket trooper. Ethan leapt off his pokemon's back, landing on another Rocket and impaling his sword through the soldier's chest. He looked up at the fire horse, realized he had become visible, and shouted an order. "Dax, fire spin."

The fire horse snorted and let off a tornado of flame that burst from its mane and engulfed a pair of Rockets that had begun to grasp the situation. One of the Rockets collapsed, screaming, while the other raised his blade. Dax turned and kicked with his hind legs, snapping ribs and knocking the Rocket to the ground.

Ethan abandoned his sword in the Rocket's chest, turning and blocking a sword wielded by an angry Rocket. He parried a second blow, knocking his opponent's blade away for a moment. Ethan's hand dropped to his knife and ripped it from its sheath. The Rocket recovered his sword in the time it took Ethan to grab his knife, and started raining blow after blow onto Ethan's shield. Ethan struck out with his knife, burying it up to the hilt in the Rocket's stomach. The Rocket doubled over as Ethan ripped the blade out. Ethan raised the knife and stabbed it down through the back of the man's neck with enough force to sever his spine.

Looking around to be sure there were no more immediate threats, he walked over to the Rocket with his sword buried in his chest. He took one look at the splintered remains of his shield and tossed the useless hunk of wood to the side. Ethan pulled his sword out of the Rocket, grimacing at the viscera covering his weapon. He spun, taking stock of the battle. Only two Rockets were still standing, backs against the wall as they traded blows with the rangers. He waved towards the woods, signalling the men hiding there. Turning back to the rockets, he watched the rangers back off and allow Thermodax to blast them with a jet of flame.

"Damn, Bugsy was right." One of the approaching rangers said to Ethan. "You're as good as advertised."

Ethan shrugged. "My old man taught me how to fight, so I guess the credit goes to him." Ethan paused for a moment to think then chuckled. "Somehow I do end up needing to fight my way out of situations a lot, so I end up with a ton of practice."

"Regardless, it was damn impressive." The head ranger said.

Ethan nodded a thanks, then turned towards the entrance to the well. It wasn't a well, as much as it was a hole in the base of a sheer cliff. He watched the last two Rockets fall to the rangers' weapons, then gathered the men around him. "Alright men, we've gotta move quick and quiet. The Rockets are in there doing Ho-Oh knows what. They've been killing people on the road and making Azalea unsafe for travellers ever since they moved in. We don't have enough men to kick them out today, but you can be damn sure that we'll be back with enough men to strike fear into even the Emperor's heart."

He pointed at three of the men that had ridden with him in the initial attack. "You three are with me. We're going after any records of what they're doing or reports on manpower." He looked at the other men. "Anyone have a poison type?" One of the men nodded. "Good," Ethan said while pointing at him. "You take three men and hit their food supply. Anything you can do to make life harder for them, you don't hesitate."

Finally he looked at the last five men. "You five, you're our distraction. You wait ten minutes after we go in, then give the Rockets a ring on one of their radios. Once you've done that, all hell is gonna break loose. You haul ass into the trees, and don't let them pin you down in a stand up fight." One of the rangers grunted his approval. "I'm serious. No going out in a blaze of glory. You hit them hard, then get out of range before they hit back."

The head ranger looked back and forth between his men. "Any questions boys?" Nobody spoke up. "Then let's get in there and kick some ass."

* * *

Eon hated everything about his master. He was an insufferable fool, always pleading with Eon to change the future for him. Didn't he know that Eon knew every single thing that would happen to their world? Didn't he know that Eon had more pressing concerns than averting the death of a single idiotic human? Of course he didn't know. How could he? The human was as dense as the rest of his race, only proving to Eon that he was so far above the man who claimed to be his master.

And yet, Eon still served the man. As begrudgingly as their relationship was, Eon found the man intriguing. He was the only person he'd ever met that he hadn't seen die. Ever since Eon had evolved into a xatu, he'd been assaulted by visions of a person's life up until the moment of their death. Ethan was the only person to have their death hidden from him. It bothered Eon to no end, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Eon shifted his foot slightly, and was assaulted by the wave of visions that accompanied his movement. He grunted in discomfort, frustrated with himself for moving, then went back to his meditation. He could see the future. All of it. He could see every moment of every life up until all of it ceased entirely. Eon shook his head, studying the wave of visions for every minute detail.

A rustling to his side distracted him from his study, launching him into more visions at the turn of his head. Eon immediately doused himself in the same illusion he'd put on the insufferable human, turning himself invisible. A squad of four Rockets were making their way through the brush, intently following the trail Ethan and the rangers had left Eon gawked, too afraid to move because of the visions he would be assaulted by.

"I'm telling you, they're human footprints. None of our patrols come through here, so who would it be?" One of the Rockets said.

"Maybe this is one of the other squad's piss spot? Let's just go man, the boss is already angry enough. If we're late for count, he'll have us discharged. I don't know about you, but I've got kids. I need this job." The other one replied in a pleading tone.

"Maybe, but what if it's the Azaleans?" The first man said. "I'd feel better if we followed it."

The second man sighed in frustration. "Fine, but I'm blaming you if we're late."

Eon reached out with his mind, searching for Ethan. Homing in on his consciousness, Eon projected his voice. "Master, I feel like you should know that there's a Rocket patrol still out here. I don't know why, but I could not see them in the future. It is my belief that the Rockets have some sort of psychic dampening ability."

Eon felt Ethan's shock turn to panic. "Take them out! Now Eon!" The breeder's voice echoed in the xatu's mind.

"You know I cannot. It would…"

"Change the future, I know." Ethan shot back. "I don't really give a flying fuck if the future changes. If those men discover the bodies of the guards, we're dead. Take them out Eon."

The bird sighed. "Very well. Just know that you are the cause of my headaches for the next month." Without waiting for Ethan's response, Eon cut the contact and retreated back to his body. The Rockets were standing behind him, two of them with their pants pulled down to allow them to relieve themselves.

Eon de-cloaked, returning to vision. One of the Rockets looked up in surprise at the pokemon's sudden appearance. Eon's eyes glowed a bright blue, flaring a bolt of psychic power in between him and the man. He flew backwards, meeting a tree with a satisfying crack. Ignoring the wall of visions that hit him, Eon turned and focused down on a confused Rocket. The man's brain melted inside his skull, turned to goo by the psychic pressure.

The final two Rockets realized that they were under attack. They unsheathed their blades and rounded on Eon. The xatu blinked out of sight, reappearing on the other side of the men. His eyes flashed a bright purple, then returned to their original colour. One of the men drew back his sword and plunged it into his ally's back, coating himself with blood in the process. The Rocket pulled a knife from his belt and slowly slit his own throat, the same bored expression marking his face. He collapsed next to the man he'd just stabbed, Eon releasing control.

The xatu took a breath, mind under attack by visions brought forth in his attack. He silently cursed his master, then blinked out of existence.

 _A/N: I have a bit of an announcement to make here. I'm actively looking for a beta, so if you're interested, please send me a pm if. On a side note, I've got some ideas and characters lined up for the next arc that I'm really excited about. Not telling what they are, so you'll just have to wait!_

 _Edit: GO JAYS GO! ALCS HERE WE COME!_

 _..._

 _..._

 _Go about your business people._


	14. A Good Match

_A/N: I'm very sorry about the length of this chapter. I just didn't seem to have any inspiration over the last week. Anyways, hope you enjoy it and please leave me a review letting me know what you thought. Stay tuned at the end of the chapter because I've got a little gripe that I want some opinions on._

* * *

"Misty would you just listen to me?" Jay said with frustration.

She continued walking in silence, ignoring his pleas.

He sped up, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her to face him. "Misty you can't give him that location. If you do, those rebels die."

The three mercs kept walking across the bridge, ignoring Jay's stoppage.

"Why should I care?" She retorted. "I only agreed to help you because you could help me? Or do you not remember that we were both using each other? You needed the rebels, and I needed an army." She motioned to the mercenary. "I found another army, so what use do I have for our agreement?"

Jay hung his head. "You'd go back on your word, just because you found an easier way?" Misty nodded, choosing not to say anything. "Just because it's easier, doesn't mean that it's right."

Misty shook her head. "The world doesn't let us take the path that's right Jay. I learned that the hard way. I guess you haven't learned that lesson yet."

She moved to walk away from him. Jay grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her. "Look at me."

When her eyes wouldn't meet his, he let her go. She turned and walked away, following the mercenaries that were still walking towards Cerulean.

Jay sighed. "If you do this, then you've got their blood on your hands." She stopped, head drooping slightly. "I know I'm just some stupid farm boy, but doesn't this feel wrong to you? Don't you feel anything? What if Ash and Gary found the rebels without your help? They'll die because of something you did to make your life a little bit easier. Do you even care?"

"Jay stop…" Misty's voice was soft and quiet. "Of course I care." She turned to face him. "I just have to do this. Cerulean should be mine. I need to make things right."

"And you think this is right!" He yelled. "Killing people you promised to help just because it makes things easier?! If this is what you have to do to take back Cerulean, then maybe weren't meant to rule Cerulean. Maybe this time the cost is too high."

Misty hung her head. "Of course the cost is too high. The cost is always too high. But I still have to do this. I've trained my whole life to take over for my mother. If I don't do this, then what do I do?"

Jay frowned. "You leave it behind. Is one city really worth throwing all your principles into the dirt?"

Misty shook her head. "I can't leave it behind. Cerulean is my home. It's hurting right now, and it needs Lady Kasumi's heir."

Jay leaned in, almost whispering. "Then be that person right now. Cerulean needs you, not whatever you're trying to be." He looked at the mercenaries, which had stopped and were leaning on the side of the bridge waiting for them. He looked back at Misty. "Buy their loyalty."

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"You heard me." He said. "They're mercenaries. They answer to the highest bidder. Make yourself the highest bidder."

She snorted, bursting out into laughter. "You really think I have that much money?" She asked.

"No." He smiled. "But the Rockets do." He looked at the mercenaries with a huge grin. "And I know an army or two that can help us."

"What are you saying?" Misty asked, eying him.

"Enlist the rebels help in wiping that base off the map." He answered.

She looked confused at that. "And the mercs will just go along with that because?"

"Because they're getting whatever is inside that base."

"Oi!" Shouted the commander. "Are you two lovebirds done?"

Misty looked back at him with a massive grin. "Commander, I believe I've got an even better deal for you than before." The commander raised his eyebrow at her. "And it involves sticking it to the Rockets."

* * *

Brock knocked on the wooden door, wine bottle held in one hand.

"Come in." He heard from inside the room. He opened the door to see Daisy standing on her balcony looking back at the door. She smiled at him and motioned towards the empty glasses on the table. She turned away, looking back out onto her city. "I don't know how much more of this I can take." Daisy said. "The Rockets have us shut down. Checkpoints on every street, random searches, the curfew… My city is suffering."

Brock poured two glasses of wine, then started walking towards her. "Perhaps I should have visited sooner. It's beautiful enough with the Rockets here, I can only imagine what it looks like free from them."

She turned to look at him with a smile on her face. "Oh my! Lord Takeshi, you certainly know the way to a woman's heart."

"And that is?" Brock said, feigning ignorance.

She responded with a smirk. "Flattery, my dear."

Brock handed her the glass of wine, taking a sip from his own in the process. "Well in that case…." He smirked. "Cerulean is beautiful indeed my lady. But it pales in comparison to its ruler."

"Oh?" She said with surprise. "I think I like flattery." She walked past him, away from the balcony. She took a sip and turned to look at him with surprise. "A Fuchsian Red? One of my favourites." She pulled a chair out from the table. "However my instincts tell me that you're here for more than just flattery and wine." She sat down in one of the chairs at her table. "To what do I owe the pleasure Lord Brock?"

He sat in the chair opposite her, taking another sip of his wine. "I'll be blunt." He said. "I didn't want to force this on you, but our alliance is tenuous at best. I cannot be sure that my bannermen will follow me into a war for you. However, there is a way to solidify our alliance."

She raised an eyebrow. "So what are you suggesting?"

He sighed. "A marriage. If you are my wife, my banners will not be able to refuse coming to your aid."

She frowned momentarily before looking up at him wearing a mask of seriousness. "I see..." She trailed off. "And this would be the only way to completely assure that your men answer the call?"

He nodded solemnly. "I apologize my lady. I should not have been so blunt."

She waved her hand absentmindedly. "No, no, not at all. It is a good match after all."

"Then do we have an agreement?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I have a few terms." When Brock motioned for her to continue, she kept speaking. "My family has always had a woman at its head. That will not change. If a suitable female heir is not produced as a result of this marriage, then Cerulean shall pass into one of my sister's hands."

Brock nodded. "I find your terms acceptable." He paused for a moment. "What say you my lady? Will you be my wife?" He asked.

She hesitated for only a second before nodding and holding out her wine glass. "I will. Here's to a prosperous marriage for the both of us."

Brock held out his glass to the cheers and downed the rest of his glass. He put his glass down, watching her finish hers. With a smile he held out the bottle. "Might I have the honour of sharing my wine with you?"

She nodded and pushed her glass towards him. "Where'd you end up finding this wine? I was under the impression that the Rockets had seized all the alcohol in the city."

Brock smirked. "Attempting to seize and outlaw all alcohol hasn't ever actually worked. It usually just ends up fuelling organized crime. Considering what Team Rocket started as, it's kind of ironic."

"So you're supporting organized crime in my city?" She asked.

"No." He answered. "I inquired with Lord Galbert about your preferred wine. He supplied me the bottle. No doubt, he viewed it as a way to curry favour with the both of us. I'd bet all of Pewter that he knew my intentions in a heartbeat."

She relaxed, satisfied with the answer. "So how is Lord Galbert? Is he comfortable with our new arrangement?"

Brock laughed once. "I doubt anyone is truly comfortable these days." He reclined in his chair, sipping on the wine. "The man is an opportunist at heart. He saw us as a great opportunity, and leapt at the chance."

"Self serving as he is, I will have to reward him for his loyalty." She said. "Perhaps I should give him a title?" She asked.

Brock contemplated her suggestion, taking a moment to think. "I wouldn't suggest that, however I'm not as knowledgeable about Cerulean's politics as you. It could alienate you from whatever enemies the man might have." He thought for another moment before taking another sip of the wine. "On the other hand, it could draw in more allies by showing that you reward those loyal to you." He put the glass down with a frown. "If anything, I'd give him an honorary title. Name him as your court advisor or something. If you give him any landed titles you run the risk of making him too powerful."

She downed the rest of her glass, looking Brock in the eyes. "So there's a risk in whatever I do?" She asked.

Brock nodded. "There's always a risk. Part of being a good ruler, is knowing when to take that risk."

"You're a good lord." She said. "Should I take the risk?"

Brock nodded. "I'm not so sure about me being a good lord, but it's a risk I would take."

"So how do I know if I'm a good ruler?" She asked.

"Well…" Brock started. "You look back at the end of your life, and if the good outweighs the bad then you've done well."

* * *

Ethan peered around the corner, ducking back in an instant. He looked at the ranger beside him. "Three men, I'll take the one on the left." The ranger turned, relaying the information to the men behind him.

"Go!" Ethan shouted as he burst around the corner. In an instant, he realized that he had made a grave mistake. Instead of outnumbering the rockets on guard, there were four more standing out of his view. Before they could react, Ethan and the two lead rangers had their blades buried in the chests of the three men they'd seen.

The four remaining Rockets rushed them, getting inside the reach of the rangers' blades. Ethan lost all sense of direction as one of the Rockets plowed into his shoulder into Ethan's stomach. The two went down in a mess of tangled limbs, blades sent clattering along the stone. The Rocket clawed at Ethan and forced him to the ground, hands wrapping themselves around Ethan's throat. Ethan bucked wildly, smashing his knees into the Rocket's back. Ethan bucked again, throwing the Rocket off him.

The two men stumbled to their feet. Ethan ripped his knife from its sheath as the Rocket charged him, not bothering with weapons. Ethan went down a second time, with the Rocket hammering a fist into his nose. Ethan's nose broke with a sickening crunch. Blood spilled over his face as the Rocket drew back his fist for a second blow. Ethan thrust his arm with all the force he could muster, jabbing the knife he held into the Rocket's stomach.

The Rocket gasped and cursed as Ethan twisted the knife, spilling hot blood all over himself. Ethan forced himself upright, pushing the Rocket off him. Ethan grabbed his sword from where it had fallen. He turned back to the dying Rocket. The Rocket had managed to stumble to his feet. He had one hand pressed against the wound in his stomach, and the other weakly gripping Ethan's knife.

Ethan shook his head. The Rocket had to know that he couldn't win the fight. Ethan raised his blade, gripping with both hands. The Rocket attempted a clumsy lunge with the knife. Ethan easily parried the blow and swung his sword, severing the man's knife hand. Before the Rocket could react, Ethan had shoved his sword into his gut and disembowelled him.

Ethan turned away, surveying the damage. Two rangers were dead or dying, blood leaking from the holes in their bodies. All four Rocket troopers had been dealt with, all of them laying in puddles of their own blood. The remaining ranger was slumped against the wall of the tunnel, panting and holding his leg.

"How bad is it soldier?" Ethan asked, grabbing the ranger's attention as he wiped the blood off his sword and sheathed it.

The man gulped, slumping harder against the wall. "Knife went clean through my leg. Damn thing won't stop bleeding." He looked up at Ethan with dying eyes. "I'm not gonna get out of here. You've got to go now, before they sound an alarm."

"With all due respect…" Ethan started.

"Kiss my ass!" The ranger spat. "You get the information we came for, then you get out of here." He pushed himself up further. "And then you bring every soldier you can find down on these bastards heads."

"But…" Ethan started again.

"No." The ranger growled. "With this leg, I'm done for." Blood bubbled out of his leg as if to prove his point. "Just get going. Soon enough they'll find the trail of bodies we left on the way down here." Ethan opened his mouth to say something but the ranger stopped him. "What the fuck are you waiting for?! Go!"

Ethan stood up and turned around, looking at the path deeper into the well. He picked his knife out of the Rocket's severed hand and grimaced at the blood and gore covering it. "Fuck it. Here goes nothing." He stepped into the tunnel, leaving the mess of bodies behind.

* * *

Lyra hated everything about Azalea. She hated the bugs that constantly harassed her. She hated the muddy training field, the bruises the training had left on her. Most of all, she hated her bed. No matter how she laid, the bed seemed to press into her bruises and make it nearly impossible to sleep. Nearly impossible because after a full day of training both herself and her pokemon, she was so exhausted she'd practically pass out over dinner.

Her sentret jumped up on the bed, cooing. It curled into a ball, nuzzling up to her side. Lyra smiled and put an arm around her pokemon. It promptly sprawled out, smacking her in the face with its fuzzy tail. She sighed and rolled over, leaving her back facing the sentret. The pokemon's tail started wagging, smacking Lyra with every swing.

After five minutes of being attacked by a sleeping sentret, Lyra sat up. Her pokemon barely moved, not even registering her movement. She swung her legs off the bed, standing up and stretching out her aching back. She walked over to the window, staring out at the night. A soft coo from the bed told her that her marrill had joined the sentret. She smiled, walking back to the two pokemon and pulling one of the sheets over their bodies.

Sighing and resigning herself to a restless night, she climbed into the bed. She made sure she had given the two pokemon enough room to both sprawl out however they wanted. She closed her eyes again, attempting to drift off to sleep. Just before she passed out, she felt the soft tapping of her sentret's tail begin to wag.

* * *

"It's risky kid. You've got balls, I'll give you that much." Said the mercenary commander. "Rob the Rockets of any support they've got, then hit them while their pants are down." He smirked. "Short stuff gets her city back, the Rockets lose their hold on the area, and I get filthy rich." He dropped the smirk. "There's only one problem. You can't guarantee me payment. At the end of the day, I still need my money."

Misty shook her head. "I can still pay you the same amount of its not in the base. It might take me a year or two, but I'd be able to."

The merc cocked his head. "Usually I ask for payment up front kid. But for a chance to stick it to the Rockets, I'll overlook it this time."

Misty looked at him with hope filling her eyes. "So you're in?" She asked.

The merc nodded with a vicious smile.

 _A/N: Alright, so my gripe has to do with fan fiction in general. I notice it a lot in Pokemon fics, but the problem really does extend to a ton of other categories._

 _Personally, I'm finding it very difficult to get my fic noticed. I mean, it's amazing that I've gotten over 2000 views to this story, but when I see a generic "Ash fucks all the girls in Pokemon" or "Ash's friends randomly decided that they hate him" fic that gets dozens of reviews per chapter it tends to get me down. Some of these fics are basically the same as vomiting onto a page and arranging it into vaguely recognizable words._

 _I've spoken to another author about this, and he told me that there isn't really any way to get my fic noticed in the mountains of garbage. The best way to get your stories noticed are to write in noticeable categories, and ensure that I'm always making progress in my fics._

 _I don't know the point of this whole tangent, but it's just something that's bothering me. I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but it's really been pissing me off lately. Anyways, that's for reading the story so far! I love all of you and thank you for getting this story to 2000 views! Sqcircles out!_


	15. Subject 92

_Hello everybody, and thank you all so much for your shows of support. Honestly, it means a lot to me. Everyone who sent me a message of support, or a review, you guys are awesome._ _I know this chapter took a while to get out, and I apologize for that (two parties in a week, and more hours than I've ever been. I'm planning on starting a new project that's got me really excited the details are at the bottom of the story, so please stick around until the end of the chapter._

* * *

Ethan spun to his left, barely avoiding the blade of a lunging Rocket. He brought his own blade down in an arc, biting into the Rocket's neck. A second Rocket was swinging before he even had a chance to pull his blade free. Ethan pulled his sword out of the Rocket's neck in a spurt of blood. He brought it up, barely deflecting the incoming blow. Ethan feigned a blow towards the Rocket's head, then lunged for his thigh. The thrust fooled the Rocket, dropping him to the floor as a screaming mess. A third Rocket was on Ethan before he could retrieve his sword. Ethan jumped backwards, avoiding the wild swing.

Before Ethan could pull his knife free of its sheath, a tauros barrelled into the Rocket from the side. The man went down in a heap, the tauros smashing its front hooves through his skull. The tauros brought its head down in a savage blow, spearing the fallen Rocket with its horns.

Ethan winced at the splatter of blood and brain that covered his pokemon's body. The tauros reared up again to land another blow on the Rocket. "Tia!" Ethan shouted. The tauros came back down gently, looking at Ethan with mournful eyes. Ethan smiled and patted his pokemon's side. "Good girl. Try not to lose control like that. You know it's dangerous for you." The tauros hung her head and stared at the ground.

"You know she doesn't like fighting right?" A voice said in Ethan's head. He spun on the spot and saw Eon floating above a mangled corpse. "Odd, considering her species, but she dislikes violence." The xatu sighed in Ethan's head. "A shame that you force her into such a fierce bloodlust."

"I know that Eon. Glad that you could finally join us." Ethan said. "Are those Rockets dealt with?" He asked.

Eon nodded solemnly. "They are dead. The migraine it caused me most likely will last another week."

Ethan held out a ball, returning his tauros. He looked at Eon, then glanced warily at the bodies around him. "Can you sense any more Rockets around here?" He asked Eon.

Eon looked at him with contempt. "For your information, I haven't been able to sense any of the Rockets at all. It's like I said earlier, it's like they've all got some sort of psychic dampening ability." He cocked his head to the side, then spoke in a surprised tone. "I do sense something powerful nearby though."

"What is it Eon?" Ethan asked.

"There is an absurdly powerful psychic presence." The bird replied. "Its mind is hidden from me. All I'm getting from it is anger." The bird paused for a moment. "Strange… The presence is gone, but the anger remains."

Ethan stared at his pokemon. "Show me how to get there?" He asked.

The xatu hesitated for a moment then nodded. It levitated itself off the ground, moving even deeper into the cave.

* * *

"Are you sure you can trust those two?" Daisy asked, draining the rest of her wine. "Something about them seemed off to me."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "I think we can trust them. They seem like just a couple kids that got themselves in way too deep. I don't even know the full story though. Those two boys showed up with Misty claiming that they were helping each other. The most I could get out of them was that they're massively important to the rebellion. I haven't the slightest clue how though."

Daisy frowned. "I don't know if the rebellion is something we should be getting involved with. Too many people die because of them, even if they do have good intentions." She dazed at the table, lost in thought for a moment. "Could they make a good bargaining chip to use against Lance?" She asked.

Brock gritted his teeth. "No doubt they would, but are you actually going to consider that? Is there anything wrong with bringing Lance down? The man's a tyrant if there ever was one."

Daisy snorted with laughter. "Only that it's impossible. Lance might be a tyrant, but it's not like anyone can topple him. He's got the civilized half of Johto in his pocket, and Kanto is still so divided from his revolution that it poses no threat. We give him the biggest threat to his rule we can find on a silver platter and hope he's feeling generous."

Brock shook his head. "You might be right, but what kind of person am I if I didn't stand up to right some of the wrongs in the world? Lance killed thousands of years of knowledge and tradition when he killed Agatha. He's trampled every tradition that crossed his path and killed everyone who dared oppose him. Plus, I've fought alongside these boys. They're just kids."

Daisy narrowed her eyes and frowned. "That's my point Brock. He can't be beat. Doesn't it seem weird that the biggest threat to him is a pair of boys from south of Viridian? We shouldn't be getting involved in this shit."

"No." He replied. "He can. My father told me that when Lance was beginning his revolution he tried to recruit my father's aid. My father used the same argument that you're using right now. If Lance could topple a family that dates back farther than anyone can remember, then what's to say that he can't be brought down too?"

Daisy stared at him then slowly shook her head. "Enough of this pointless argument. We are to be married, are we not? Put these thoughts from your mind for the moment, and enjoy yourself."

Brock sighed and broke in to a grin. "I suppose you're right. I apologize my lady, I have behaved improperly and beg your forgiveness."

Daisy snorted in laughter again. "There's no need to be so proper Brock."

He smiled back. "Good, because I fucking hate talking like that." He shook his head with a smile. "Makes me sound like my dad."

"And me sound like my mother." Daisy said back, raising her empty glass for Brock to fill again. "A toast… To becoming our parents. Mew knows they were better at our jobs than we were."

Brock emptied the bottle into her glass and pushed it back towards her. "I'll drink to that my lady." He raised his own half full glass in a toast. "Our parents!"

* * *

"This is the rebel base?" The merc asked incredulously. "We combed every inch of the place when we found it. There's nothing here, it's just a run down old lab. Plus, the last contact we had with the rebels was well to the east of here."

Misty shook her head. "This is the place. My mother was in constant contact with them. She used this lab as their meeting place." She stepped into the lab, Jay right behind her.

"Misty are you sure this is the place?" He looked around at the dilapidated equipment. "It looks like it's been abandoned for years."

Misty smirked at him. "That's the idea Jay." She stepped up to one of the many consoles that covered the walls. She tapped a command into the computer, then turned to Jay. "It's supposed to look like shit."

A loud series of clicks and knocks came from behind the console. The computer split in half, opening to reveal a staircase that lead down into the earth. Misty turned back to the mercenaries. "After you, gentlemen."

The two mercs that had accompanied their commander looked at him nervously. His hand dropped to the pommel of his sword, a nervous reflex. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and nodded to his men. The three men started down the staircase, followed by Jay and Misty.

"I hate to be the one to say this." Started Jay. "But we're going into a secret underground bunker with three people we probably shouldn't trust. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Misty smirked at him. "Jay, the worst ideas often end up becoming the best with hindsight."

Jay shook his head and sighed. "Doesn't mean it's not a fucking stupid idea in the first place." He stepped off the last stair and into a bare room. "Now what?" He asked.

The wall opposite the staircase slid open. A dozen soldiers rushed out, surrounding the group with their weapons at the ready. The mercenaries ripped their swords from their scabbards and backed up against each other. Jay started to pull his blade out, but a sharp look from Misty stopped him.

A tall, wiry man wearing glasses pushed his way through the circle of soldiers. "Captain Barrett, stand down." He turned to Misty and bobbed his head in a bow. "I apologize for this my lady. Mister Barrett is overly zealous when it comes to defending this complex." He smiled at Misty serenely. "I trust that miss Cerulean's guests will not be a problem?"

"I give you my word." She responded, pointedly glaring at the mercenaries. "They won't be a problem at all. Will they?"

The merc captain gritted his teeth and slowly lowered his sword. He sheathed it, glaring at the rebel captain. "Put your swords away boys. We're not fighting today."

The lanky rebel looked at him with concern. "Oh dear. I'm afraid that I have to ask you to hand over your weapons." He looked unsurprised by the mercenaries' immediate outburst. He stepped back, allowing the rebel soldiers to threaten the mercenaries into silence. "There's really no need for any of this." He said, head poking over the ring of men surrounding the mercenaries. "I give you my word that you will not be harmed. It's only a precaution. After all, you are part of the mercenary company that is combing over Cerulean Cape for this very base."

The captain hesitated for a moment. "I can't believe I got myself into this mess." He muttered under his breath. "Should've just killed the damn kids." He looked to the two men with him and shook his head. "I want these back as soon as possible. You get that?"

The rebel smiled at him and spoke in the same serene voice. "We'll do everything in our power to make that possible." He pointed to the sword still strapped to the mercenary's belt. "Now if you would just place your weapons on the ground for us."

The mercenaries reluctantly dropped their weapons. The rebel soldiers rushed forward to collect them.

The same rebel that spoke before walked over to Misty and Jay and held out his hand. "I'm afraid that I must ask the same of you as well. It's just a precaution."

Jay held out his blade, Misty repeating his motion beside him. The rebel with glasses took their weapons then bowed again towards Misty. "If you would follow me, I can take you to the people in charge."

* * *

"Eon!" Ethan exclaimed.

The xatu turned to look at him with what Ethan could have sworn was a devilish grin. The rocket grunt in front of the pokemon dropped like his strings had been cut. Blood seeped out of the man's nose and ears, his brains scrambled by psychic power.

"What is it human?" The xatu spat. "Do you want to find out what's going on down here or not?" It levitated forwards, into Ethan's face. "You annoy me, puny human. The disturbance I felt gave me power. I feel more powerful than ever. Do not test me or I will flay you alive with my mind."

Ethan responded by returning the xatu to its ball. He slipped it back into the holster, shaking his head. The bird had torn through the first Rocket trooper he had found, drawing more Rockets. Instead of freezing and complaining about the future, Eon tore into them with ferocity that took Ethan by surprise. They hadn't even been able to touch him. Every man that came close to him dropped to the ground with blood pouring from every orifice. All the while the bird was shrieking in Ethan's mind about affronts to nature and things beyond human comprehension.

Ethan shook his head, dispelling any of his concerns. Right now he had to focus on the task at hand. One of his two pokemon that actually fit in the tunnels had gone mad. The other was barely more than a child. Ethan sighed reluctantly. Slowly, he realized that his mission had gone horribly wrong.

He was deep in an enemy stronghold, with no backup save for the six pokemon that sat in balls on his belt. He knew he needed to get out of the well before more Rockets showed up and overwhelmed him. His lone psychic had gone power mad, and he had no idea which tunnel would lead him out.

Ethan spun on the spot, attempting to figure out which tunnel would lead to the surface. He hesitated, realizing that he didn't actually know which tunnel would lead out. Ethan let Torch out of his ball, and knelt down on the floor in front of his pokemon. "Torch, I know it's a long shot, but can you lead me out of here? Eon isn't in any shape to help me right now."

The cyndaquil nodded excitedly, and happily scampered down one of the tunnels, oblivious to the carnage around led Ethan down the tunnel, nearly running out of his trainer's sight at several points.

Angry voices bounced off the walls of the tunnel. Torch recoiled at the sound, looking up at Ethan nervously. Ethan ducked against the wall of the tunnel, immediately taking cover. Torch's flames died, dropping the pair into darkness.

"This failure is on you Proton. Because of your incompetence, the subject escaped yet again." A woman's voice rang through the tunnels. "Lord Sakai will hear of this. I doubt he'll tolerate your failure much longer."

"What failure?" Answered a man. "The chances of capturing the subject were always slim." He chuckled. "Besides the bodies, I'd call this operation a success. We confirmed that the creature is affected by our new toys, and managed to inflict more damage than any previous operation could have dreamed of. With more men, I can have the subject back under our control the next time it surfaces."

The woman laughed. "No, you don't understand. You've been reassigned. Subject ninety-two is no longer your assignment." Ethan heard the sound of a pokemon being released from its ball. "Lord Sakai wants a personal report on this cell's operations. He's expecting you within the week."

"And how the fuck am I supposed to get to Viridian in a week?" The man asked.

"Not my problem. Goodbye Proton." The telltale pop of a pokemon teleporting away echoed down the cave.

"Fucking bitch." Proton swore. "I'll fucking show her." Ethan heard him grunt, then struggle to move something. Something heavy shifted, then fell back onto the floor with a thud. "Ah shit." Proton said.

Ethan decided to take a peek around the corner. What he saw would give him nightmares for years. Dozens of mangled bodies were strewn across the chamber. Some were human, some were pokemon. All of them looked as if they had been ripped apart from within. A blue haired man was pulling the remains of a human body off a clearly dead fearow. A literal lake of blood covered the floor behind the man. Ethan recoiled in horror, ducking his head back around the corner.

"Good for nothing bird. Why'd you have to go get yourself killed?" Proton asked, berating the corpse. "Now how am I getting to Kanto?"

Ethan had heard enough. He knew that the man was a member of Team Rocket, likely a high-ranking one if the woman was to be believed. Or rather, a formerly high-ranking member. Regardless, Ethan steeled himself for a fight. If he was going to figure out what was happening, then the man would need to be captured. He nodded to Torch, then slowly and silently pulled his sword from the scabbard.

He stepped out from the tunnel, sword raised. Torch bounded out after him, puffing up the flames on his back. "Put your hands on your head. Lay down flat on the floor." Ethan ordered, striding forward. "Scorch him if he tries anything." He ordered to Torch.

The man stood up and turned to face Ethan, his face a mask of pure malice. "I wouldn't do that if I was you." His hand dropped to his hip, resting on the sword that sat there. "The last guy who threatened me ended up choking on his own cock."

"Try it you freak." Ethan retorted.

"I won't have to try."

* * *

 _Alright everyone, at the top of the chapter I said I was working on a new project. I recently bought Xcom Enemy Within on my phone. In less than a week it became my go-to time waster. I checked out the Xcom section on this site, and didn't really find any great fics. With Xcom 2 on the way, I decided that I should take a crack at writing my own Xcom fic. I haven't meshed out all the details yet, but I'm looking to see if there's any interest in that kind of fic. Leave me a review or drop me a pm to let me know what you think of his idea. If I do end up writing it, you guys probably won't see it until the new year, but I'm very very excited about this. Sqcircles out!_


	16. Running

_Alright, I wasn't expecting a flood of feedback but not even a single review or pm? I need them guys, they're what lets me know if you're enjoying the story or not. I'm still gonna go ahead and write my Xcom fic, but I'd still like to know what you guys think about it. On a slightly different note, this chapter has replaced chapter 14 as my favourite to write so far. Here's hoping you guys enjoy it as much as I did! Please remember to leave me a review letting me know what you thought, it really does mean a lot to me! That's all for now, on with the show!_

* * *

Proton jumped backwards, hand moving to the bandolier of balls around his chest. A wheezing appeared in front of him, billowing foul smelling smoke. Ethan immediately ordered Torch forward. The cyndaquil opened his jaws, blasting a jet of flames straight at the wheezing. The pokemon levitated straight upwards, dodging the blast of flames. It floated forwards, poisonous gas billowing out of every orifice. Torch spat another jet of flame, igniting the gas.

The pokemon exploded violently, showering the area with chunks of pokemon. Proton scowled angrily and promptly released a pair of koffing. In unison, the pokemon belched a thick cloud of acrid black smoke. Ethan caught a glimpse of Proton sprinting directly at him before the smoke enveloped them both. Ethan dove to the left, dodging Proton's charge and landing on a mangled human corpse.

Ethan tapped a pair of the balls on his chest, releasing Tia and Eon. "Tia, stay by my side. Eon, find the man attacking us and restrain him. Torch, if you catch a glimpse of those koffing then you hit them with as much fire as you can muster." He shouted, immediately descending into a coughing fit. His arm shot up, covering his mouth and nose, and his eyes shut to block out the smoke.

Ethan heard his tauros grunt an answer then snort in discomfort, and his cyndaquil's squeak of determination. Eon angrily protested in his head, but agreed with a more forceful order from Ethan. Ethan felt the rush of wind as the bird levitated itself upwards, in an attempt to escape the smoke.

"I knew I recognized your face Mr. Gold. You and your pokemon are the subjects of several extremely high-paying bounties." Proton taunted, his voice echoing around the chamber. "Especially from the Orreans. I wonder what they'd pay to have you delivered to them alive."

Ethan tapped his tauros on the side to get her attention. "Next time he starts talking, charge him." He whispered. The tauros nodded, barely visible in the smoke. "Don't kill him, I need him alive."

"I wonder how much that sweet little piece of ass you've got tagging along actually knows about you?" Proton spat, venom unrestrained in his voice. "She certainly doesn't know about what happened in Orre, otherwise she would've run at the first chance she got."

Tia shot off, snorting and huffing in anger. Ethan lost sight of her in the smoke, and heard the sickening thud of flesh colliding with rock.

"Stupid animal. It makes you wonder how you managed to slaughter all those Orrean soldiers. Surely it wasn't with this lump of fat?"

Ethan heard Tia whine in pain, and immediately stumbled off into the smoke towards the sound. "You bastard, don't you dare hurt her." Ethan growled.

"Oh I'm not going to hurt her Mr. Gold." Proton called. "She won't even feel a thing."

Ethan stepped out of the smoke and gulped down a mouthful of fresh air. Proton was standing over a prone tauros, blood dripping from the sword in his hand. A deep gash along the pokemon's flank was seeping bright red blood onto the floor. Ethan raised his own sword and charged, fire in his eyes.

Proton parried the blow easily, disarming Ethan grabbing hold of him. Proton brought his knee up, ramming it into Ethan's groin and throwing him to the floor. He stepped backwards, avoiding the diving Eon. Proton stepped back and released a machoke that immediately launched itself at Eon.

Eon wasted no time, immediately rocketing out of reach while screaming telepathic insults. The machoke charged after him, swinging its massive fists angrily. Eon darted in, slashing with razor sharp talons. The xatu flew back out of reach, having left a row of bloody furrows along the machoke's arm.

Ethan struggled back to his feet, retrieving his sword from the ground. He swung madly at the Rocket, finding only air with his blows. Ethan changed tactics, thrusting his blade at Proton's chest. The Rocket deflected his blade into the dirt and went on the offensive. Ethan scrambled backwards, desperately defending against Proton's blows.

The chamber was once again filled with the sound of an explosion. Once again, Ethan was showered by the meaty chunks of pokemon. Proton let up in his attack, drawing back and covering his ears to protect his hearing. The noise of the explosion faded, giving way to the sounds of the brawling pokemon. Once again, Ethan found himself barely able to defend himself from the Rocket's vicious assault.

Proton feigned a slash towards Ethan's neck, then lashed out with his foot. Ethan fell back, the wind driven from his lungs. Proton smirked at him and kicked Ethan's sword away. "Tell me…" Proton started. He stomped on Ethan's sword hand, the snapping bones emitted a sickening crunch. "How long will that take to heal?" He drew back his foot and slammed it into Ethan's elbow. "Oh dear me!" Proton gasped. "Your arm might never be the same again." His face twisted into a mask of murderous glee.

Proton raised his arm to strike the killing blow. The second koffing exploded on the edge of the smoke, bowling him over with the shockwave. Proton stumbled back to his feet, only to see his machoke fall to the ground lifeless, it's mind fried by Eon's powers. The Rocket Executive cursed loudly, and dashed from the chamber.

Ethan sat up and winced. His arm hung limply at his side. Eon landed softly beside him, looking at Ethan's arm with veiled concern. Ethan pulled Tia's ball off his chest and recalled the tauros. He replaced the ball with Torch's and recalled the cyndaquil as well. He looked at Eon and raised an eyebrow. "You done being a murderous psychopath?"

The xatu cocked his head at Ethan. "Perhaps." He prodded Ethan's injured arm, bringing out a grunt of pain. "So fragile… Makes me wonder how your species has survived this long."

Ethan sighed. "Can you just teleport us back to Azalea?" He asked.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Eon asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. Ethan's face remained a blank mask. "Fine." Eon spat. "Grab my leg, but I want something for this migraine when we get back."

Ethan nodded. "Of course."

Eon looked at him sideways. "You say that every time."

* * *

Ash yawned loudly, startling pikachu awake. The electric mouse looked at him with annoyance and curled back up on Ash's lap. Ash scratched the back of pikachu's head, smiling softly. "Hey Gary." He called, adjusting himself on the bed.

The boy on the floor looked up from the book on his lap. "What?" He asked, voice tinged with annoyance.

"Did Brock say when he was coming back?" Ash asked. "We've been sitting in this room for days."

"You know why we can't leave Ash." Gary said. "We've had this conversation several times."

Ash flopped backwards, startling pikachu again. The pokemon jumped off his lap and onto the floor, looking for a more comfortable spot to sleep. "You're right." He sighed. "I'm just bored."

"Then go bother the nurse or something." He went back to his book, barely giving Ash a glance. "I'm busy here."

"What're you reading?" Ash asked.

Gary sighed. "For the third time, I'm attempting to read The Myths and Mysteries of the KanJo Region."

"And what's it about?" Ash asked, clearly enjoying Gary's annoyance.

Gary looked up at Ash. "Exactly what the title says." He deadpanned.

There was silence between the two, before Ash broke the silence.

"I'm bored."

Gary stood up, tossing his book aside. He stormed over to the door and ripped it open. "Get out." He ordered.

Ash groaned and pushed himself to his feet. "Really? I was just kidding." Ash complained.

"I don't give a fuck. You're annoying." Gary shot back.

Ash stepped out in the hall, and whirled around to face Gary. "Have fun with your book then."

Gary froze and the colour drained from his face. He pulled Ash back into the room, ignoring the boy's protests. He slammed the door and braced his shoulder against it. The doorframe shook violently, cracks spreading down the wood. Gary braced himself more firmly against the door. "Find a way out now!" He shouted at Ash.

Ash leapt into action, not questioning Gary in the slightest. "Pikachu, take care of anything that comes through that door!" He ordered. The mouse nodded and planted it's feet defiantly. Ash's eyes raked over the room, falling on the small window on the wall opposite the door. He frantically pounded on the frame, attempting to dislodge the window.

The door shook again, splintering even farther. Gary realized the door was about to give and dove out of the way. The door exploded inwards, showering the room with wooden shrapnel. A fat pink blob stepped into the room, tongue flopping out of a mouth that was curled into an oblivious smile.

A bolt of lightning surged across the room, striking the centre of the blob. It recoiled from the electricity and swung its tongue wildly across the room. Pikachu easily jumped over the tongue and launched another barrage of electricity.

Gary scrambled to his feet and released Sergei. Pointing towards the window, he shouted an order. "Knock that window out of the frame!"

The wartortle bounded across the tiny room, pausing only to launch a blast of pressurized water at the attacking pokemon. The wartortle leapt into the window, smashing the glass with ease. It kicked the shards of glass out of the way, clearing enough room for the boys to climb through.

Gary didn't waste any time, diving out the second floor window and landing heavily on the ground. He clambered to his feet and released Sawyer, letting the pidgeotto take off into the air. Sergei jumped out of the room after him, landing with an audible thud.

Ash was next, screaming for pikachu to follow. No sooner had Ash landed on the ground, than pikachu leapt out after him, crashing into its trainer's back and knocking the pair to the dirt.

Gary was hauling him back to his feet in seconds. "We have to get to the gym!" He shouted, taking off like a rocket down the street, Sergei hot on his trail.

Ash took off after him, pikachu in tow. "What're we running from?" He shouted after Gary.

"The crazy Rocket bitch from Mt Moon!" Gary yelled back. "She set a fucking lickitung on us!"

"What's a lickitung?" Ash asked, looking over his shoulder.

Gary veered off the street, dashing into an alleyway. He stopped running, bending over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He looked up at Ash, who was leaning on the building to catch his breath. "That pink thing was a lickitung." He paused, breathing heavily. "It's tongue is coated in extremely powerful natural anesthetics. Whatever you do, don't let it lick you. You'll pass out in seconds."

Ash stood up, walking towards the other end of the alley. "Come on, we gotta get to the gym. Brock and Daisy have to help us."

Gary straightened up, motioning for Sergei to follow him. The wartortle waddled after his trainer, nervously glancing over its shoulder every few steps. Sawyer swooped by, startling Gary for a moment.

Gary caught up to Ash, the other boy having stopped at the edge of the alley. Ash looked at him, then out into the street. "Ready for this?" He asked.

Gary nodded and stepped out onto the street after Ash. They dashed down the street, continuing their way towards the gym.

* * *

"I've set the bones in his wrist as best as I can. Same with his upper arm. However I can't be sure that they'll heal properly, even with his arm in a cast." The doctor droned, relaying the information to Lyra. "The bones above his elbow in particular were damaged beyond my ability to repair. The moment you get to Goldenrod, I would suggest taking him to the best physician you can find."

Lyra nodded and looked away from the doctor, not wanting to make eye contact. She sighed and leaned back in her chair, massaging her temples.

Ethan had appeared unconscious in the courtyard of Bugsy's gym. Eon had teleported the both of them in, screaming in everyone's mind to bring a medic. It had taken a full day for Bugsy's only human doctor Bugsy could find to finish his work, and even then Lyra wasn't sure if it was enough.

Ethan's tauros had also been injured, a deep cut down its left flank that Lyra had been assured would heal quickly. Eon had refused to return to his ball, telling Lyra that he required meditation and rest outside of his ball. The last time Lyra had seen the bird, it was sitting in the courtyard with both eyes closed.

The doctor speaking brought Lyra back to the present. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" She asked nervously.

The doctor sighed and started over. "As I was saying, I wouldn't normally advise moving him so soon, but the sooner he gets to Goldenrod the better. Still, you mustn't let him overly exert himself." The doctor sighed. "Even traveling too hard could cause permanent damage to his arm."

Lyra nodded and thanked the doctor. "Is there anything else?" She asked.

The doctor shook his head and began collecting his things. He paused for a moment, to look down at the unconscious Ethan. "The vileplume extract I gave him should wear off within the hour. He will likely be confused, so please be gentle with him."

"Of course doctor." Lyra answered. "Do you need me to show you the way out?"

The doctor smiled. "No, I'm fine thank you. I've been here enough times that I know the way out." He picked up his bag and walked out of the room, leaving Lyra alone with Ethan.

* * *

"Fuck!" Gary swore, ducking back behind the building he and Ash were hiding behind. "They're just waiting for us." He looked at Ash, frowning. "The red haired bitch and her partner are both there, same with the persian."

"So that's why nobody was chasing us. They knew where we'd be going." Ash said.

Gary nodded, gritting his teeth. "They just had to wait and we'd come to them."

Ash frowned and fingered the second ball that sat on his belt. "So what do we do?" He asked.

Gary's look of concern split into a grin. "You still have that onix, right?" He asked.

Ash nodded.

"Then I say we get Brock's attention."

* * *

"So?" Brock asked, leaning over a map of the city. "When do we make our move?"

Daisy frowned and tore herself away from the stack of troop reports on her table. "I don't want to risk anything while those agents are still in the city."

Brock nodded, returning to the map. "They're probably here searching for me." He said absentmindedly. "I'd bet that they've searched Saffron, and had a roadblock to the east the entire time. That would only leave two options to me. Since no sane person would try to attempt the wilds between here and Celadon, it makes sense that they'd be looking for me here."

Daisy nodded. "Regardless, I'll feel safer once they've left. I don't know if any of my trainers could take them on in a straight fight."

Brock smirked knowingly. "That's the problem my lady. You never take a Rocket agent on in a straight fight."

Daisy smiled and nodded. "You're probably right my lord. Even still…" She trailed off into silence.

The silence was broken by a massive roar of anger, and the sounds of two large pokemon launching themselves at each other.

Brock froze, staring at Daisy with his jaw dropped.

She leapt into action immediately. "Get down there and contain that battle." She ordered. "I'll rally my men and get word out to my bannermen." She dashed out of the room, sprinting down the hallway away from the battle.

Brock leapt up, dashing after her. "Send a messenger pidgeotto to Pewter! They can have men here in less than two weeks!" He called after her.

She waved over her shoulder in acknowledgment. Brock turned, heard another roar and ran off towards the sound of battle.

* * *

Carris swung her massive bladed tail, hammering it down on the angry machamp that nimbly dodged the blow. She roared in annoyance and slid her tail along the ground, slamming into the beast's side. The machamp crashed through the front of a bakery, knocking bricks flying with its impact. A woman dashed out of the ruined storefront, barely avoiding the torrent of dragonfire that washed over it.

The machamp launched itself out of the storefront, ignoring the dragonfire that washed over it. It lowered a shoulder and charged into Carris. The onix recoiled at surprising speed for her size, and halted the machamp's charge with a swing of her tail. Once again, the machamp flew backwards, crashing into another store. Carris didn't bother with the dragonfire, instead choosing to use her head as a battering ram and crush the machamp.

The machamp blocked her head, barely holding off the onix's massive strength. Carris was undeterred, simply opening her jaws and blasting the machamp with dragonfire. The machamp roared in pain, skin bubbling under the flames. It lashed out, grabbed hold of Carris' head and brought it into a submission hold. The onix rolled, crashing through a city block and out of sight.

Ash ordered pikachu forward, blocking the Rocket agents' attempt to take advantage of the onix's absence. Sergei and Sawyer joined the electric mouse, staring down Jessie ad James with unbridled fury.

James released a victreebell that stared down at them, it's leaves still bearing the signs of the beating it took from Jay's growlithe. Jessie's lickitung stepped forward, never losing the oblivious grin it wore. Her arbok joined the pair of pokemon, hissing and glaring down at the boys.

All was silent for a moment, save for the sounds of Carris and the machamp fighting in the distance. Then the Rockets' pokemon charged, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

 _And so, one story arc has drawn to a close. The slowpoke well arc took longer than I would've liked, but was still necessary to introduce a pair of plot lines that won't come into play until later. Cheers to those who figured out who I introduced in the last two chapters. Ethan's story arc so far has been extremely action heavy. I'm not going to remove all the action, but for the next little bit the story is gonna be focusing on developing the Johto characters and their relationships with each other. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please follow/favourite/ review to let me know how you're enjoying the story so far. Sqcircles out!_


	17. Fury

_DEAR GOD I'M SORRY! Work hit me like a train this month and kept me too busy to do much writing. I realized that working on more than one project at a time is really difficult, so don't expect that Xcom fic until I'm done with Shattered Thrones. Uhhhh, On with the show I guess!_

* * *

"Lady Misty Cerulean, the waterflower herself." The lanky man said, introducing her to the trio of men sitting around the table. "Her loyal retainer, Jason of Pallet Town."he said, motioning for Jay to step forward. "And Captain Martyn Ulysses of the Broken Banners." The mercenaries stepped forward, grim looks adorning their faces.

The man in the middle looked down at them with concern. "Lady Cerulean," He started. "It is a pleasure to see you again. Your mother's death was a tragedy to us all. We offer our deepest condolences." The man bowed his head in respect.

Misty grimaced at the mention of her mother, barely managing to keep her composure. "I thank you my lord. However I've come for more than just your condolences." She looked at Jay, then back up at the rebel leaders. "I'm in need of your assistance." She said. "The Rockets oppress my people. They are suffering." She motioned to the mercenaries, still locking eyes with the man in the middle. "I've already struck a bargain with the Captain Ulysses. The Broken Banners will aid my city in its time of need. Now I ask you to pledge the same. Cerulean stands against the very same enemy that threatens you. Will you join us?"

The man on the left stood up, adjusted his glasses and looked down at Misty. "Child, you must think of what you're asking us. Even with Cerulean and the Broken Banners joining together, there is no guarantee of victory."

The man in the middle stood up, coming to Misty's defence. "Joining with them would give us the best chance of liberating the city we've seen yet. William, think about it. When have we ever had a chance like this to hit the Rockets where it hurts."

The first man cocked his head, staying silent for the moment. "Very well." He stated. "Perhaps this is a risk worth taking." He turned back to the second man. "I must insist that we examine their minds. It is the only way to be certain that we are not being deceived."

The second man nodded and looked down at Misty. "Will you agree to allow your minds to be inspected?" He asked.

Misty nodded vigorously. "Anything you need. We have nothing to hide." She said.

Brock burst out the doors of Daisy's gym to a scene of chaos. The plaza opposite the gym was a field of gutted buildings. In the distance, the rising clouds of dust and furious sounds of battle told him that Ash had released Carris. Slowly and inevitably, Ash and Gary were losing ground to the Rockets' pokemon.

Gary's wartortle had withdrawn into its shell, enduring the brutal assaults of Jessie's arbok. Ash's pikachu was facing off against the lickitung, engaged in a high speed battle in an attempt to wear the much more powerful lickitung down. Only Gary's pidgeotto was having any success, darting in repeatedly to jab at the victreebell with its beak before taking back to the skies before the victreebell could strike.

Brock dropped his hands to his belt, releasing a trio of pokemon. A much smaller onix, graveler, and ryhorn charged into the battle. The ryhorn bellowed a roar and charged the lickitung, burying its horn in the centre of the pink blob. It fell backwards, blood pouring from the hole in its chest cavity. Pikachu took advantage of the distraction, pumping electricity into the gaping wound. The lickitung disappeared in a flash of red light, returned to its ball by a scowling Jessie.

Brock's onix launched itself into the victreebell and clamped onto its body with solid rock jaws. Sawyer swooped in, landing on the victreebell's body and ripping apart the pokemon's eyes with razor sharp talons. The pidgeotto took off, allowing Brock's onix to coil itself around the victreebell and crush the pokemon with its body. An audible crunch and deflated wheeze came from the victreebell, signifying its death.

James released his wheezing, quickly realizing the battle had turned against them. "Give us a smokescreen." He ordered, before turning to Jessie. "Get arbok out of there, we have to retreat." He pulled an arm up to his mouth, covering it and motioning for his wheezing to follow him.

Jessie reluctantly recalled her pokemon. She took off after James, using the smoke billowing from his wheezing as cover.

Carris crashed back into the plaza across from the gym. The machamp leapt atop it, hammering down on Carris' head with its fists. Carris twisted, knocking the machamp to the ground. Before the fighting-type could react, Carris was over top of it, roasting it with blue flames. The machamp attempted to rise to its feet under the barrage of flame. Carris reared up and lunged her head forward. Her jaws closed around the machamp's head, tearing from its body. The machamp's body fell to the floor, a headless husk.

Carris threw her head back and roared a challenge that went unanswered. Ash held out her ball, recalling the massive rock snake.

Brock strode up to Ash, pulled back his fist and swung a punch that took him by surprise. Pikachu's cheeks sparked, but the presence of Brock's pokemon kept it from acting. "What the fuck were you thinking?" He roared. "A brawl in the streets of Cerulean? Was me telling you to keep your fucking heads down not clear enough for you?"

"They came after us." Ash complained. "We had to make a break for the gym."

"So you let out a murderous onix that levelled an entire plaza?" Brock rounded on him, yelling. "Did neither of you think? Did you have a plan at all?" He looked back and forth between the two incredulously. "You could have done anything else, and it would not have fucked things up as much!"

"How did we fuck things up?" Ash asked, earning himself a smack from Brock for his question.

"They were waiting for us in front of the gym." Gary said. "They drove us out of the centre, and waited for us."

"So you didn't think to go around them?" Brock shot back. "Do you not understand that we are in a precarious situation?" Brock shouted. "We don't have enough men to hold off a siege for long, and unless you can pull a few thousand men out of a hat, you've fucked things up so badly that I doubt anyone of importance in this city lives out the week."

"How many men do we have?" Gary asked.

Brock shook his head. "Not even close to enough." He held his head in his hands and sighed. "Just get in the gym. We're gonna have to move fast if we want to win this fight."

* * *

Misty grimaced as the alakazam's mind probed through hers. It whipped through memories, processing them far faster than the human mind could even dream of. It was not gentle with its probe, caring little for the human's well being. The only thing that kept the psychic from tearing apart her mind like it was a growlithe's chew toy, was the careful observation of its human masters.

"She is an honest soul." It said telepathically, withdrawing from Misty's mind. "She does not seek to deceive you."

William nodded at him. "Now the mercenaries." He ordered.

The alakazam nodded and bowed. It rose off the ground, crossing it's legs. "Do not resist if you value your sanity." It boomed in their minds.

"Well boys, I'll go…" Started Martyn.

Without warning, the alakazam invaded his mind. Martyn dropped to one knee, stabilizing himself with one arm. For what seemed like an eternity, the alakazam examined every corner of the Captain's mind, searching for any hostile intent. Satisfied with its findings, the alakazam pulled itself out of Martyn's mind, causing him to wince in pain.

"Surprisingly, he does not seek to destroy us." The alakazam said. "He will honour the agreement he has made with the Lady Cerulean." With barely a flicker of effort, it examined the two other mercenaries. "His lackeys are clean."

Jay gulped nervously. He knew that he would pass the test. However, his visits to the afterlife were still fresh in his mind. The alakazam would no doubt find those memories. Fear dominated his mind, sending it racing along progressively worse paths.

The alakazam's presence smashed through the meagre resistance Jay mounted. Angered by the human's insolence, the alakazam resolved to teach it a lesson. It started at his moment of birth, racing through memories Jay couldn't even recall. Every thought Jay'd ever had, every feeling he'd ever felt, all of them were forced through his mind faster than he could possibly handle.

Jay dropped to the ground, curling into a fetal position. Incomprehensible babbling came streaming out of his mouth.

"He is resisting." William said. "A poor choice."

"Help him!" Misty shouted. She took a step towards the alakazam and was halted by a wall of psychic energy. "Recall the alakazam." She ordered.

"I will do no such thing." Said William. "We have not survived for so long by being lax in our security measures. His mind will be examined, the same as yours."

The alakazam extracted himself from Jay's mind, ripping memories with it as it went. It turned away from him, leaving the boy crying on the floor. "He does not seek to harm us. However I would suggest a guard keep a close eye on him. The boy has been touched by ghosts. Even now, their presence still lingers in his mind. I doubt the boy even knows that they are there."

Misty piped up at the mention of ghosts. "We were attacked several times on our journey from Mt. Moon to here." She looked back at Jay, feeling a pang of pity towards him. "Could that have been the presence?" She asked.

"It is possible." Said the alakazam. "Whatever left the presence was extremely powerful. Once again, I would suggest that he is kept under guard while here."

"So the kid's gonna be fine?" Martyn asked, with something resembling concern.

"With time." The alakazam replied. "I was not gentle with my probing. He will most likely require several hours of sleep at the moment. When he wakes, he will have to face the memory of feeling everything he has ever experienced at once. Increased irritation and aggression, along with a decline in his decision making abilities are the expected symptoms. Full recovery will likely take months"

"Great…" Martyn muttered. "And he was the reasonable one."

A man dressed in mottled green combat fatigues ran into the room, panting heavily. "Generals!" He shouted, saluting the men. "Word from our informants in Cerulean. A battle erupted in the square outside the gym. The Rocket agents were driven back, with two of their Pokemon killed. The Rockets manning the checkpoints inside the city are already massing to strike Daisy's Gym. There's already an army marching on the city from the Rocket base to the north."

"What of Cerulean's response?" William asked.

"Almost nonexistent." The man replied. "Lady Cerulean and her sisters are rallying whatever troops they can at the gym. Lord Galbert is the only banner that has answered her call, and by all reports he is moving to secure the northern gatehouse. But they will not be able to hold the gates without aid."

"Nobody else?" William asked. "Daisy has thousands pledged to her."

The man shook his head. "At least at the moment, Lord Galbert is the only one."

William looked down at Martyn, grimacing. "It seems that Cerulean requires our aid. Shall we answer together?"

The mercenary nodded, a vicious smile gracing his face. "Aye. Let's go save the redhead's sister."

* * *

Lyra stepped through the door to her room, exhausted beyond reasoning. She'd been training non-stop since Ethan had returned, trying and failing to keep her mind busy. Her pokemon had thrown themselves into their training just as hard as she had, pushing themselves to the brink of collapse almost every day. She unstrapped the belt holding her pair of pokemon and dropped it onto the floor, too tired to care about keeping the room tidy.

"What are you?" Eon's voice said, popping into her head.

Lyra spun on the spot, instantly spotting the psychic. The xatu was perched on the chair that sat next to her window. "How did you get in here?" She asked.

"I asked a question first. Common courtesy is to answer before you ask your own question." He said. "What are you? I will not ask again."

"A human, I guess." Lyra said, confusion seeping into her voice. "Why're you asking that?"

The xatu paused, obviously contemplating his response. "Because you are the second person I've met that has a shroud over your mind. I cannot see your future. It is hidden."

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked, even more confused. "You can't see my future? Should you be able to?"

The xatu sighed. "My species is capable of seeing the entire life of each person we meet. It is an incredible strain on the mind, and most xatu choose to live in isolation because of it. However, there are some like myself who choose to live among others." He shook his head. "The point is, your future is hidden from my sight, and I would like to know why."

Lyra shrugged. "I don't know why you can't. Maybe it's just a rare ability?"

Eon laughed sarcastically. "Do you think I have not considered that? Silly human, do not think that you will solve this mystery with your puny intellect. Even the most ancient xatu are unable to fathom the reasons behind this. What makes you think that you can?"

Lyra shot back an angry look. "Fuck off bird. I was just trying to help."

"You are strange, human." He shifted his weight, then spoke again. "I apologize. Perhaps I will question you again once you have regained your strength.

She flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Thank you. Now get out of my room."

The xatu stared at her in silence. She rolled over, facing away from him. She heard Eon shift his weight, then pop out of existence. A smile spread across her face as she drifted off to sleep stop her blankets.

* * *

"Get back!" Brock roared, shoving a Rocket soldier back with a powerful kick. "Back to the gym!" He turned back to the gym, shouting madly while he ran. A Rocket stepped in front of him and brought the pair down in a heap. Brock abandoned his sword and hauled himself on top of the Rocket. He pulled he knife from his belt and stabbed it through the Rocket's throat. He looked up at the gym and screamed a command. "Archers! Fire at will!"

A pack of men broke off from the fight, making a mad dash back to the gym. Brought stumbled to his feet, retrieving his sword in the process. He took off after the militia, easily overtaking them. A barrage of arrows peppered the Rocket forces, giving the Ceruleans time to retreat. The Rockets ignored them, reforming their formation in the ruined buildings across from the gym. A row of archers stepped out from the ranks, nocking their arrows.

"Ash!" Brock shouted, scrambling up a pile of debris and into a second floor corridor. "Get pikachu to cover them!"

Ash nodded, relaying the order to his pokemon. Pikachu dashed out of the cover of the crumbling front wall of the gym and blasted the Rocket lines with electricity, bringing screams from their ranks. The archers ducked back into the ranks of men, hiding from the bolts of lightning that brought down several of their comrades. The Ceruleans outside the gym scrambled back into it, finally back under the cover of its walls.

The Rocket formation tightened up, shields locking. They advanced, shields held high to defend against the onslaught of arrows and electric attacks.

Then the Rockets were on them, pressing into the gym as fast as they could. The Ceruleans were quickly forced back, crushed under the Rockets sheer numbers. They split into two groups, forcing some of the Ceruleans down the hallway away from Brock and Ash.

Brock stepped back, giving himself space and released his ryhorn. The beast appeared in a flash of light and materialized beside him, taking up most of the corridor. The floor creaked, groaning under the strain of the massive pokemon. "Charge." He ordered, all emotion drained from his voice.

Ash immediately understood his intention, screaming a warning to the Cerulean militia. He flattened himself against the wall, barely avoiding the charging pokemon.

The ryhorn plunged into the mass of humanity, crushing Ceruleans and Rockets alike. It plowed into the wall at the end of the hallway and cracking it. A surviving Rocket leapt at the ryhorn, stabbing his sword into a gap in the ryhorn's natural armour. The pokemon roared in pain and slammed itself into the wall, crushing the attacking Rocket. It turned and charged back down the hallway towards Brock and Ash, slamming into the walls several times.

Brock turned and tackled Ash to the ground, barely avoiding the ryhorn's wild charge. It slammed into the wall and splintered it, showering the two with a hail of debris. It bellowed again and charged into the remains of the Rockets. The floor finally gave out, dropping dozens of bodies onto the first floor. The Ceruleans still holding the first floor and the Rockets fighting them were almost immediately crushed under the falling debris and bodies.

"Return that thing! Before it kills us!" Ash shouted, barely audible over the sounds of the building crumbling.

Brock hauled the teen to his feet and shook his head. "We don't stand a chance without it." He grabbed an abandoned sword off the ground and pushed it into Ash's hands. "Where the fuck did your friend go?" He asked.

"He was on the first floor." Ash replied.

"Fuck." Brock swore. "Come on, we've got to warn the others."

"What about Gary?" Ash asked. "We can't just leave him!"

Brock shrugged callously. "If he's still alive he'll dig himself out. We don't have the time." He returned his ryhorn and started off down the ravaged hallway.

Ash hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. He turned his back on Brock and jumped down to the remains of the first floor. Pikachu landed beside him. They looked at each other and nodded. Pikachu took off into the debris, only pausing to dispatch a surviving Rocket. Ash did the same, combing through the wreckage for his friend.

* * *

Jay could feel himself floating again. "Fuck! I swear to whatever God you believe in, I will rip you a new asshole if you bring me back here." He opened his eyes and saw the old lady on her rocking chair, floating in the void beside him.

"Is that any way to talk to an old lady?" She asked. "I've done you no harm. In fact, I believe that I saved your life on one occasion. Your only feelings toward me should be gratitude."

"I've had enough of ghosts fucking with my mind. It's starting to get a little old." He answered. "Why did you bring me here?" He asked.

"Because you are important. You will bear the weight of millions, and I intend to make sure that you succeed."

"The fuck does that mean?" Jay shot back angrily. "I've had enough of this. I want you, that asshole with the evil voice, and any other ghosts who think I'm important to leave me the fuck alone."

The crone laughed. "Such powerful spirit. You do not understand yourself. I will not leave you in peace, because your path does not end in peace. You require aid, someone to tutor you in this world and the real one."

Jay opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by a wave of energy from the woman. "I will not be disrespected by a runt like you." She boomed. "You will go to Lavender Town. There, you will discover what you truly are." With that she exploded into a stream of black miasma and blasted Jay across the void. His eyes closed and he blacked out once again.

* * *

 _So there you have it. The Cerulean arc is coming to a violent close and the Azalea arc is wrapping up. There might be a time skip in the next few chapters, just to get the ball rolling again._

 _I want to know who everyone's favourite characters have been so far. So either leave me a review or check out the poll on my profile. Squarecircles out!_


	18. War

_Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, all that wonderful stuff. I won't bother you here, so stick around until the end of the chapter! Thanks everybody!_

* * *

Gary pulled back his sword arm, ripping his blade out of the Rocket's stomach. The man fell to the ground, disembowelled. Another Rocket replaced him, surging into Gary before he could react. Gary was knocked onto his ass, creating a hole in the Cerulean line. The Rockets exploited it, pushing as many men into the gap as they could. The line collapsed, Rockets pushing through and slaughtering the untrained militiamen.

Gary felt the Rocket's fist smash into his nose, and the spurt of blood splatter across his face. He fumbled at his belt for a moment, then found the pair of balls latched to it. He wildly scrabbled at them, releasing his pokemon before the Rocket on top of him finished him off. He vaguely heard the hallway groan, and a massive roar from above.

Sawyer materialized first, squawking uncomfortably in the enclosed space. The bird hopped onto the Rocket's back and dug his talons in. The man reared up, grabbing at the bird. Sawyer dug his talons in deeper and lunged with his beak. The Rocket's exposed neck made an easy target for the pidgeotto. It ripped into the flesh, bringing screams from the man.

Sergei appeared next and immediately tackled the Rocket, knocking Sawyer off him. The Rocket slammed into the ground, grabbing at his shredded neck. The wartortle brought its head back and slammed it into the Rocket's head. The man collapsed completely, ceasing all movement. Sergei turned back to Gary, and immediately leapt over the prone trainer. The crowd of Rockets cleared away from the pokemon, giving Gary a clear space to stand up.

He hauled himself to his feet as the ceiling groaned again. He raised his sword, gripping it with both hands. He smiled grimly, then charged the Rockets with a savage war cry. Then the ceiling fell in, showering them all with bodies, debris, and a very angry ryhorn. A heavy wooden beam crashed down in front of him, crushing Sawyer underneath. Gary stumbled and grabbed at the beam, desperate to save his pokemon. Something heavy smashed into the side of Gary's head and he fell to his side, knocked out cold.

* * *

Jay sat up abruptly, and instantly regretted the movement. "My fucking head…" He started.

"Shut up, it's your own damn fault." Misty spat. "What made you think that resisting the alakazam would be a good idea?" She was pacing back and forth at the foot of his bed with an angry look on her face. "What are you hiding? I know the alakazam said he saw ghosts or some shit, but I don't think that was the whole truth." She sat down in a chair opposite the bed and stared at him. "I think I want the whole truth."

Jay opened his mouth to say something, then stopped himself. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat, then massaged his temples. "Fuck, I don't even know. It sounds crazy when I say it to myself. Misty…" She nodded, forcing him to continue. "I think I died. Twice."

"What?" She said. "No, you didn't. You're right here in front of me."

He sighed. "I know. That's the part that's confusing." He massaged his temples again. "Look, I don't want to sound crazy. I know I'm going to if I tell you everything."

Misty nodded solemnly. "You sound crazy enough normally. This takes the cake though." She smirked at her own joke then shook her head. "Just tell me. I'll hear you out."

Jay shifted, sitting up straighter on the bed. "I think I died under Pewter. Or right after we got there. I saw some kind of spirit. It showed me what I thought was my own death. It showed me the rhydon under Mt Moon." He looked at her nervously. "Then, after we fell, I was in some giant space and I was just floating. The spirit from before thanked me and left me there. I didn't know what to do, so I just kinda floated there for a while. I don't know how long it took, but some old lady in a rocking chair said she was sending me back." He shuddered at the memory. "She said she could still use me."

Misty listened to it all with the same mask of concern. "It all sounds so ridiculous. You know that, right?" He nodded in answer, a grim look on his face. She sighed heavily. "I don't know what the hell is going on with you, but I know where we can find answers."

"Where?"

"Lavender Town."

* * *

Ash unearthed Sawyer first. The pidgeotto was crushed almost beyond recognition. It was a mangled mess of feathers and shattered bones, laying in a pool of blood. Sergei pushed himself out of wreckage, taking Ash by surprise. The wartortle immediately started digging at the wall of debris that completely blocked off the hallway. Ash swore, then threw himself at the debris, desperately digging.

The sounds of men shouting and swords clashing returned, the survivors of the building's collapse returning to their battle as if nothing had happened. Pikachu stood guard for Ash, shocking any Rocket that got too close to his trainer.

Ash and Sergei lifted a beam of wood off the pile, shifting the balance of wood and stone. The pile shifted, and an arm appeared from the pile of debris. Ash shrieked and redoubled his efforts, tearing at the pile with barely concealed fury. He cleared off the rest of the arm, then a chest, then the head. Gary's head lolled to its side, blood dripping from the blow that knocked him out. Sergei threw himself at the pile, clearing off his trainer faster than Ash was capable of.

Ash hauled the unconscious boy off the pile of debris. He lifted him and tested his weight across his shoulders. He took two wobbly steps then looked down to the pokemon. Sergei nodded grimly, as did pikachu. Ash returned the nod, then started off into the raging battle. The pokemon rushed after him, clearing him a path with vicious elemental attacks.

* * *

"Hold them back!" Lord Galbert roared. "Loose the acid!" He ordered. The pair of boiling cauldrons above the gates tipped, pouring a wave of boiling tentacruel acid onto the wall of Rockets that pressed themselves against the city gates. The boiling acid melted through the Rockets, leaving them writhing on the ground in pain. One of the defenders tossed a torch over the battlements, igniting the flammable liquid. A cheer erupted from the defenders of the gates at the sight of the burning rockets.

Lord Galbert watched the wall of Rockets retreat, a satisfied smirk on his face. He turned to one of the lieutenants at his side. "Bring up two more cauldrons of acid. I want to be ready for their next assault." The lieutenant ran off to relay his orders. "Give me a report." Lord Galbert said. "Before we don't have the time."

"Daisy has found herself under heavy attack. The gym is surrounded by the Rockets who were still in the city." One of the lieutenants said. "Her own reinforcements can't break through their lines. I suggest we send a force to aid them."

Lord Galbert nodded. "Find my son. Tell him to take two-hundred of my men and help liberate the gym." Another lieutenant dashed off to find Lord Galbert's son. " If the gym falls, all this is pointless." He said, motioning to the burning bridge. "Speak of the devil…" Lord Galbert whispered. "The Rockets are stirring, prepare yourselves." He turned to the direction his first lieutenant had run off in. "Where are those cauldrons?!" He bellowed.

* * *

"Knew this was a shit idea from the start." Martyn spat. "Take the job Cap'n, it's good money Cap'n, you can retire after this job Cap'n." He mocked. "Now we're up to our asses in tauros shit with no guaranteed money. I'm getting too old for this shit."

The mercenaries around him laughed, bringing a smile to Martyn's face. "Least you've got us Cap'n."

Martyn's face morphed into a mask of disgust. "Lucky me." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. He sighed and pulled one of the balls off his belt. "Mount up boys, we've got asses to kick!" He turned to the river behind him and released a gyarados that immediately bellowed a challenge to the world.

All forty-two members of the Broken Banners released their mounts in a storm of light and sound. A pair of onix, several ryhorn, countless rapidash, over a dozen tauros, a trio of pidgeot and a single charizard appeared amongst the mercenaries. The charizard returned the gyarados' roar with one of its own.

Martyn's gyarados bent it's head down to the bank of the river, allowing the veteran soldier to clamber into place on its neck. "Alright girl, keep me safe."

A presence burrowed into Martyn's mind, causing him to wince. "Captain Ulysses?" A voice asked.

"Who are you?" He asked, not bothering to answer.

Martyn could feel amusement resonate in the presence, then a soft chuckle. "I am the alakazam that probed your mind earlier today. I have been tasked with coordinating your men in tandem with our own."

Martyn grunted a response, then hooked a radio headset over his ear. "Alright maggots, check in." He ordered. His gyarados reared up, giving him as close to an aerial view as possible.

"Cav One, good to go."

"Foot One, ready when you are"

"Air Cav, waiting for your go."

Captain Ulysses smiled grimly. Not much could stand up to a force of trained and hardened pokemon trainers, much less a force with as much experience as his men. "We're ready." Said Martyn. "Just tell us what to kill."

Martyn could feel the alakazam's bloodthirst resonate with his own. "With pleasure, Captain."

* * *

"Lee!" Ethan said in a cheerful tone. "Get up! We're leaving today!" He rapped on the door with his free hand. Lyra rolled over, intent to ignore him. "Bugsy, just give me the damn key. I wanted to get an early start, and we're already running late."

"No. The fuck makes you think you can barge into a woman's room while she's sleeping?" She heard a scuffle, then Bugsy swear. "Fuck, just send in Eon or something. At least that'd be less creepy."

"You know, I managed to get the key off you with my good arm in a sling." Ethan said.

Bugsy snorted. "That's the only reason you got the damn key off me in the first place. I'd feel bad." Bugsy said with a chuckle. "What with you being a cripple and all."

Ethan sighed, then Lyra heard the telltale sound of a pokemon being released. She pulled herself out of her bed, hastily pulling on her clothes from the night before. She grabbed her oversized coat, her pack, then clipped her belt around her waist. She ripped the door open as she heard a faint pop behind her. "What?" She asked.

Ethan's grin somehow got even wider. "Ready to go?" He asked

Lyra sighed and nodded wearily. "Yeah, I guess. Only if we can have breakfast before we leave."

Ethan smiled knowingly. "Biscuits and jerky?" He asked jokingly. Lyra's look of disgust brought a booming laugh from Ethan. "Don't worry, we won't be eating jerky until tomorrow. Bugsy was generous enough to donate today's meals."

Lyra sighed in relief. "When do we leave?" She asked.

"As soon as possible." Ethan replied. "That's actually why Bugsy's here."

"Don't go soft on me old man. I'm just here to send you off." Bugsy said, voice tinged with annoyance. "It's the least I could do to thank you."

Lyra closed her eyes and shook her head softly. "So? Are we going then?"

Ethan started off down the hallway, giving Lyra her answer. Lyra and Bugsy started after him, albeit at a slower pace.

"You know…" Bugsy started. "It'll be boring without you two here. You really livened up the place."

"Thanks." Lyra said. "I think most of that was Ethan though."

"What?" Bugsy asked. "You think I didn't notice you training in my courtyard every night? It certainly kept things interesting." He smiled at her softly. "Your efforts were… Admirable."

Lyra cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "So you were admiring me?" She asked. "Or is that just a different way of saying you were spying?"

"What?" Bugsy spluttered, taken aback. "I didn't… That's not… But…"

"Don't worry, I'd have probably done the same." She said with a devilish grin. "The chance to watch me get all hot and sweaty, while handling that heavy sword…" She trailed off, then gave Bugsy a wink. "I'd have leapt at the chance."

They rounded the final corner, nearly walking directly into Ethan. He turned and smiled at them, oblivious to Bugsy's growing discomfort. "Have a good talk, did we?" He asked. Lyra gave a short nod, followed quickly by Bugsy. "Then let's get moving! I've got a feeling that you'll like my grandmother, and I'm sure she'll like you."

Bugsy held out a hand for Ethan to shake. "You're always welcome in Azalea. My apologies that it wasn't more peaceful during your time here."

Ethan took Bugsy's hand, bringing a smile to both their faces. "It's been great. I'll see you next time Bugsy!" Ethan stepped out the door after Lyra, leaving Bugsy behind. He easily caught up to Lyra, drawing even to her with a massive grin. "So?" He started. "Would you have anything to do with the massive hard-on Bugsy was sporting back there?"

She grinned sheepishly. "I just jogged his memory." She said with a laugh. "The little creep didn't need any help, he practically had his tongue wagging at the thought of me."

* * *

 _Well, this is exciting! New fic launching this week, so check my profile every day because I'm determined to get this up. Reminder that I've still got that poll up, and it'll likely be up for a few more chapters. Merry Christmas everyone, Squarecircles out!_


	19. Fear

_Apologies for taking a whole month to get this chapter out. I launched The Fall, and then ended up putting out another chapter of it before I returned to writing Thrones. This is still my main project, so expect to see more of Thrones before I go back to The Fall. Thanks for the patience, I think you guys will enjoy this chapter! Stay tuned at the bottom, because I've got a few things to say!_

* * *

"So what are you still doing here?" Jay asked, pushing himself into a sitting position on his bed. "I'd have thought you'd be tearing through any Rocket dumb enough to get between you and Cerulean."

Misty shook her head and sighed in frustration. "it was suggested that I not take part in the battle." She put on a fake voice and mimicked the general they had met before. "You're far too valuable to risk. You have too much of a personal stake in this battle, it would not be wise to participate." She sat down heavily in her chair and closed her eyes.

Jay laughed. "Clearly you don't agree with his assessment."

She laughed, and made an obscene gesture with her hands. "He can go shove that alakazam's spoons up his own ass." She smirked at her own joke, then shook her head. "I should be out there Jay." She said solemnly. "It's my home. People are fighting for my home, and I'm sitting here taking the piss out of some old codger."

"Am I that boring?" Jay asked sarcastically.

She looked at the floor, leaning back in her chair. "Yeah, but that's beside the point." She looked up at him. "I'm trying to be serious Jay. People are fighting and dying for me. And for what?" She asked. "So I can take my sister's job?"

"Misty, we're doing this all for you." Jay started.

"That's my point!" She shouted. "All of this is because of me." She pointed at him. "You've had your arm snapped and fell into a pit for me. That's not even mentioning the ghosts." She stood up. "Brock lost his brother, Gary lost one of his pokemon… Now your friends are caught up in a battle for my city, one that they didn't even want to be a part of." She shook her head. "Fuck, and I was ready to hand over the rebels on a silver platter…"

"Misty…"

She looked at him, and something inside her snapped. "I don't want this."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I don't want people dying for me. I don't want people fighting for my cause, or getting hurt, or any of it. I don't want that on my conscience. I don't want that responsibility." She walked over to Jay's bed and took a seat on the end of it. "I don't want people depending on me anymore. Not if I can't be trusted to act like a sane person."

He nodded slowly. "You are sane. It's not your fault that the world forces you to be ruthless." He shrugged. "I think I'm starting to understand how the world works now."

Misty shook her head. "Look at you… You just got your mind fucked by a psychic, and I'm moping around because people are willing to fight for me."

Jay smiled awkwardly. "It does sound bad when you say it that way." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "But maybe you're just worth fighting for." She raised her eyebrow and cocked her head. A moment passed in silence before Jay spoke up. "Misty, I…"

"Let's leave." She said abruptly, cutting him off. "Go to Lavender Town on our own. I can't stay here, and you need to go there." She frowned solemnly. "I'll take you. I just need some supplies." She stood up and strode over to the door. "I'll be back. Get your pokemon ready . I don't want to have to fight our way out, but I will if I have to." She opened the door and stepped out, leaving Jay alone.

He smiled and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He stood up shakily, knees nearly buckling several times. He stumbled over to the chair that Misty had sat in and picked his belt off the back of it. He tapped the pair of balls strapped to the belt and released his growlithe and nidorino. "Get ready boys." He said. "Because we're leaving here as soon as Misty gets back."

* * *

"Pour acid!" Bellowed Lord Galbert. "Archers, fire at will." He shouted over the din of battle.

The acid cauldrons tipped, drenching dozens of Rockets with the boiling liquid. They fell, their skin dissolving away. Screams of pain that turned into choked gurgling reached Lord Galbert's ears, bringing a grimace to his face. Volley after volley of arrows rained down on the bridge, practically barricading parts of the bridge with dead bodies.

The Rocket assault broke off, men running to clear the bridge and escape the range of the Cerulean bows. Lord Galbert breathed a sigh of relief as they went, content to catch his breath and deal with the numerous reports on the siege. Before he could say a word to any of his lieutenants, a voice in his head interrupted him.

"Lord Galbert I presume?" It asked. "I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."

Lord Galbert looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

"I don't have time to explain everything, my mind is already stretched to the breaking point." The voice said hurriedly. "I'm currently coordinating a three-pronged assault to wipe that Rocket army off the map. Only problem is, you're my third prong."

"So you want me to hit the Rockets when you give me a signal?" Galbert said. "I can't even be sure of who you actually work for. You might be a Rocket agent, or one of their pokemon. Until I've got real proof that this isn't a trick, you don't have a third prong."

There was a pause, then a massive roar. A huge gyarados burst from the river. It landed on one of the Rocket formations and immediately began tearing into the surprised soldiers.

The voice returned to Galbert's mind, smugly chuckling. "That was the first prong my lord. The second is only minutes away. I would suggest preparing yourself immediately. All of us will fall unless we have your aid."

* * *

In the wild, gyarados are exceedingly rare due to one simple reason. Humanity relentlessly hunts any gyarados that shows its scales anywhere close to a settlement. A single enraged gyarados is powerful enough to wipe frontier towns off the map. Martyn smiled grimly as his massive pokemon thrashed its way through a swath of Rocket Troops. Without pokemon of their own, the Rockets' rearguard stood no chance against the raging beast.

Martyn watched grimly as his gyarados ripped a Rocket trooper in half, showering the remains of his opponents in gore. He pointed towards another formation of Rockets, shouting orders to the men flanking him. "I'll have Balthazar deal with them next. Get the men ready, because the Rockets are gonna hit us with everything they got in a minute."

His gyarados turned, leaving the shattered remains of the Rocket formation behind him. It slipped into the river with grace that betrayed its size. Balthazar reared up, sighting it's next target. He roared a challenge, then opened his maw. A beam of pure energy shot out, washing over the Rockets. The beam tore into the earth, blasting bodies apart and igniting the remaining underbrush. Finished with its assault, Balthazar slipped back underwater to rest for a moment.

The Rocket army reacted immediately. The men attempting to cross the bridge retreated. A wave of arrows followed them, loosed by the Cerulean soldiers on the walls. The thousands of soldiers reformed, slowly turning to face the mercenaries.

"Stand fast! Hold your ground!" Martyn shouted. "We are the anvil boys! We will hold against these fatherless cunts!" He smiled to himself and whispered softly. "For Kanto." He thrust his sword into the air, shouting a mad war cry.

"FOR KANTO!" The men echoed, barely heard over the noise of the Rocket army marching. The men released their pokemon, swelling their numbers to over two-hundred. The pokemon let out a battle cry that drowned out the sound of a thousand footsteps.

A deafening roar erupted from the Rocket lines, and they charged in unison. A wave of pokemon attacks met them, cutting down hordes of the soldiers before they could even reach the mercenaries. The Rockets broke ranks, charging wildly in order to reach the mercenaries and cut off the devastating ranged assault.

Hundreds fell before they could even react, torn apart by a variety of elemental attacks. The flat plain turned into a veritable killing field, each fallen Rocket making the plain more difficult to cross.

Martyn grinned viciously, and mentally sent a command to the alakazam coordinating the attack. He pinpointed a spot in the centre of the army's mass, then spoke. "As soon as Balthazar is capable of fighting have him carve a path towards their commanders. Once they're dead, this battle should be easy." The alakazam mentally processed the order, relaying it to the gyarados lurking in the river.

* * *

Alan was afraid. He was afraid for his life, for his friends' lives, and the state of the world that he was fighting to save. He'd been trained to fight other men, not beasts that could kill him with no more effort than a breath. That hadn't mattered when a gyarados set upon his squad, ripping the captain in half. He'd been forced to fight, ignoring the carnage around him. He ignored the blood that splattered over his rudimentary armour. He ignored the blast that destroyed his hearing and killed dozens of his friends.

Then the beast was gone, snapping Alan out of his trancelike state. He looked around, horrified at the death surrounding him. He dropped his sword, and fell to his knees. A hand found his shoulder. He looked up at the man, who simply smiled back. The man held out his hand and pulled Alan to his feet. He silently patted the younger man on his back, then motioned towards the reforming Rocket army.

"This battle just got a whole lot more complicated." The man said. "Are you with me, recruit?" Alan nodded and grabbed his sword. The man grimaced and nodded. "Good." He said. "Because we've got work to do."

An alakazam appeared beside the man, dropping to one knee. "General, we have been betrayed. Ulysses has joined with the rebels, we are surrounded."

The general turned and frowned. "Knew that bastard was trouble from the start." He looked over to the mercenary company, and watched as their pokemon were released. "Fuck." He swore. "Aramus, contact my brother. I need him to bring his riders down on these mercenaries. They pose the greatest threat to this entire operation." He glanced at the Rocket soldiers charging the mercenaries and grimaced. "Pull back half those men and reform the rearguard. The Rebels and Ceruleans are going to try flanking us while we are distracted by Ulysses."

Alan's jaw dropped as the general rapidly doled out his orders. The general turned to face Alan, glancing over his shoulder as the Alakazam warped out of sight. Alan dropped to one knee, babbling honorifics. "My lord-general, I apologize for my cowardice in battle…" He trailed off with a stern look for the general.

"Join up with one of the squads hitting those mercenaries. They're gonna need help, and I can't spare many more men." The general said. He looked back at the main body of the Rocket army and swore. "Get over there, recruit. I've got to get back to safety." The general started off, not looking back at Alan.

Alan nodded, bowing deeply. He looked over at the mercenaries and grimaced. His lord-general had commanded him to assist those men, and by the grace of Mew, he would obey the order. He unsheathed his sword and ran, eager to fulfill the lord-general's orders. He would help those men or he would die trying.

* * *

"Here we are Lee!" Ethan said, practically bouncing with glee. "The Gold Ranch. My home." He said proudly. "You can't see anything from here, but we just crossed onto my land."

Lyra looked around at the land. They were on a dirt road with flat plain to their left. To the right, all she could see was a thick copse of trees. "It doesn't look like much." She said, faking indifference. He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. "Hey, at least you own land. It's more than most people can say."

"Don't act like you aren't impressed." He said. "Just wait 'till you see it."

"See what?" Lyra asked.

They rounded the trees to their right, coming into view of a short stone fort with a small house beside it. Ethan turned and looked at her, a massive grin on his face. "There she is." He said. "Fort Gold."

"I thought you said you were a pokemon breeder?" Lyra asked.

He grinned sheepishly at her. "I am. I'm really good at it."

"So you built a castle?" She asked.

"I had to spend my money somehow. Building a castle just made sense, ya know?" He answered. "Provide for the future of my family and all."

Before Lyra could answer, a pair of shadows passed over them. She looked up and shrieked, throwing herself to the side.

"Hunter! Farrow!" She heard Ethan say before he burst into laughter. "You can get up Lee!" He called. "They just wanted to say hello."

She looked up to see Ethan flanked by a pair of massive birds-of-prey. A braviary and staraptor stared her down, eyes drilling hard stares directly at her. "Intimidating hello, isn't it?"

Ethan chuckled and patted the staraptor's flank. "They're just very protective." He said. "I might've raised them, but they treat me like one of their own children. Minus the pre-digested food of course, though it hasn't stopped them from trying."

Lyra grimaced squeamishly at the thought of one of the birds vomiting half-digested food into Ethan's mouth. "I don't think I needed to know that." She said.

Ethan smiled and motioned towards the fort. "Come on, let's head inside." He said. "If these two know that we're here then grams definitely knows. Ho-Oh help us if we take too long to come in from the cold."

* * *

Gary jumped awake, a blast of cold water bringing him back to consciousness. Sergei grinned at him lopsidedly and winced audibly. Gary turned his pokemon's head, studying the three claw marks that disfigured his pokemon's face. He gulped, recognizing the work of a persian.

Brock's voice boomed across the room. He rushed across from his post at one of the main doors to the hall, brandishing his sword madly. "Bar the doors!" He shouted. "If the Rockets get in here, we're done."

Ash and another militiaman forced themselves into the door, attempting to hold back the wall of Rocket soldiers that pressed themselves against it. Brock slammed into the door beside him, followed quickly by another pair of Cerulean militiamen.

Gary forced himself to his feet, ignoring the wave of nausea and dizziness that threatened to topple him. He stumbled over to a huge decorative armoire that dominated one corner of the hall. Sergei understood, tackling the armoire in an effort to knock it over.

The armoire smashed to the ground, drawing Brock's attention. His hand dropped to his belt, releasing his ryhorn. "Help him!" He shouted, pointing at Gary. The massive horned pokemon lumbered over to the young trainer. It lowered its head and placed its horn on the fallen armoire. With barely any effort, the ryhorn pushed the armoire over to the door being held shut. The trainers and militiamen leapt aside, the armoire replacing them and barricading the door.

The main doors into the hall crumpled, splintered by a makeshift ram. Rockets poured in, forcing the Cerulean defenders back. Brock roared and charged, followed by the scant few militiamen that had followed him to barricade the door. His ryhorn bellowed and charged, lowering its horn. Ash raised his sword and plunged into the melee, followed by an angry streak of yellow.

Gary scavenged a weapon, taking up one of his fallen comrades' swords. He followed Ash into the fighting, looking for the streak of yellow. A bolt of lightning lit up the hall, dropping a group of Rockets. Gary raised his sword , and with a savage shout he stabbed it through the back of the nearest Rocket. He fell, the Cerulean he was fighting ensuring he was dead by shoving his own blade through the man's chest.

The armoire blocking the door at the back of the hall shifted, Rockets pouring through the breach. At their head, Jessie and James led the charge. Their persian was with them, tearing apart Cerulean defenders one at a time.

"Fall back!" Brock shouted. "Form a circle!" He ordered.

The few Ceruleans around him took heed, forcing the Rockets back far enough to form a circle around Brock. His ryhorn grunted and charged forward, clearing room for the Cerulean militia. Slowly but surely, the circle expanded. Every one of the remaining defenders fell back, joining the circle and strengthening their last stand.

A whistle blew and every single Rocket stepped back, giving the Ceruleans a reprieve. Ash stumbled out of a knot of Rockets, limping and clutching at a wound above his knee. Gary pushed himself past a pair of Rockets, rushing over to help his friend. He put one of Ash's arms over his shoulder and helped him over to the circle of Ceruleans. Their pokemon stalked behind them, warily glancing at the Rocket soldiers.

The whistle blew again, and the Rockets collectively took a step back. Jessie and James stepped forward, their persian at their side.

"Well my dears, it seems that we have reached the end of this battle." Jessie said tauntingly. "Surrender now, and you may live to see another day."

Brock slightly lowered his shield, leering over it at the agents. "We stand to the last man." He slightly lowered his blade and stepped forward. "Our deaths will not be in vain. You will fall. To us, to our allies, to someone else entirely…" He trailed off, resigning himself to fate. "It doesn't matter. We fight to the last man. For Cerulean. For Pewter. For the hope of a free Kanto."

Jessie laughed, high and clear. She turned her head to James with a vicious smile. "My dear, I think this long-winded man requires a lesson in humility."

James frowned. "Are you sure?" He asked uncertainly. "Lord Sakai won't like this if he finds out."

"He won't find out. I just want to make sure that he pays for the trouble he's caused us."

James hesitated, then nodded shortly. He stepped back, allowing Jessie to take the lead.

She cackled maliciously, drawing her sword slowly and deliberately. "Brock Takeshi, I challenge you to to a duel. Beat me, and your pitiful band of warriors will be allowed to live."

Brock considered for a moment, then spoke. "And if I lose?" He asked cautiously.

A wicked smile spread across Jessie's face. "We slaughter you all."

* * *

 _I lied, I've got nothing to say down here! Please leave me a revie, to let me know what you thought! Sorry for the month-long wait, it won't happen again. Sqcircles out!_


	20. Shepherd

_Uhhhhh, I don't know if this is ever a good place to pour my heart out, but I got fired. Without cause, without notice, and without any fucking compensation. Needless to say, I'm very pissed off. If the fucking government doesn't respect their own laws, then little people like me are gonna get our asses fed by our employers. Thankfully I've put enough into my unemployment insurance that I've got something to fall back on, but it won't last forever. So happy job hunting to me, and as a present here's another chapter._

* * *

"I accept your terms." Brock said. He gulped back the lump forming in his throat and stepped forward.

Jessie mirrored him, raising her own spear and stalking towards him. They circled each other, studying for any gap in their opponent's guard. Jessie lunged, her spear deflected into the ground by Brock's shield. He seized the opportunity, barreling into her in an attempt to get past the reach of her spear. Jessie turned Brock's tackle against him, using his momentum to flip them both. Brock landed in a heap, rolling to a stop. He scrambled to his feet, bracing for Jessie's assault.

She stood there staring at him. She spun her spear in her hand, smirking smugly. Brock shook himself off and charged, intending to catch her off guard. Jessie shot forwards, meeting his charge. She parried his first blow, disarming him with the haft of her spear. His sword went skittering across the floor, disappearing into the wall of Rockets. Jessie pressed the advantage, jabbing at his exposed arm. Brock spun, yanking the spear with him as he went. Jessie stumbled forward and Brock swung his shield, sending Jessie sprawling.

He leapt at her, jabbing down with the stolen spear. She rolled to her side, barely managing to dodge the tip of the spear. Brock kicked at her, connecting with the side of her head. He raised the spear to strike the killing blow. The persian hit him like a truck, hissing and spitting while it clawed and bit at his shoulder. Brock went down, the massive cat tearing at his armour in an attempt to separate his arm from his body. He heard a pop from his right arm, and searing pain when he attempted to move it. Brock abandoned the spear and rolled onto his back. He kneed at the persian's stomach and brought his shield up to get in the way of its claws. Brock scrabbled at his belt, grimacing in pain while he searched for one of his pokeballs.

His graveler appeared in a flash of light. It lifted the Persian off Brock, grabbing the pokemon by its tail. It hissed in pain, curling up and latching on to the graveler's arm. It scrabbled at the rock, claws useless. The graveler turned and pitched the persian into the crowd of Rockets, bowling them over. The hall erupted, both factions charging. Brock's ryhorn charged, clearing a path for the Ceruleans to form up around Brock and Jessie. His graveler rolled, barrelling through the Rocket ranks.

Brock scrambled to his feet, barely able to bring his shield up in time. Jessie rammed the spear into his shield, snapping it in half. She stumbled forward, all her weight thrown into the blow. Brock pulled his shield back and swung a vicious uppercut with the shield that knocked Jessie flat on her back. He descended on her, bringing his shield down on her head. He rained blow after blow, continuing long after Jessie's head was reduced to a bloody pulp. He stopped, gagged then vomited onto Jessie's corpse. He forced himself to his feet, steadied by Daisy who appeared at his side.

"Are you hurt?" She asked.

He shook his head and doubled over, hurling again. "Bitch didn't even scratch me." He grabbed his right arm and forced it back into its socket with a sickening crunch. "It was the damn cat." He tested his arm, rotating it cautiously. He looked up at her with a smile on his face. "Fight to the last man?"

Daisy nodded solemnly. "I'm with you to the end my lord." She held out a hand, helping him stand straight. "Cerulean and Pewter united… A pity we won't see it."

He smiled, resigned to his death. "I think we already have." He said. "And we put up one hell of a fight."

* * *

The door burst open. Misty burst in, a pair of bags slung over her shoulder. She slammed the door behind her. She grabbed the chair at the foot of Jay's bed and jammed it under the door handle. "Flip the bed onto its side. Give us something to hide behind!" She ordered.

Jay grabbed the bed frame ad flipped it to its side. Misty grabbed him and forced him behind the bed just as the door exploded inwards, showering the room with splintered wood. Misty tapped the lone ball on her waist, releasing her starmie. The pokemon leapt into action, not needing an order. A wave of psychic energy lashed out, sending whatever opened the door flying across the hallway.

Jay vaulted over the bed, charging the door. A pair of rebels met him, wrestling him to the ground. His pokemon rescued him, dispatching the rebels with a pair of quick kicks to the back of their heads. A machop push if itself out of a hole in the wall, stumbling around dizzily. Misty's starmie floated out of Jay's room and blasted it back into the wall.

Jay pushed himself upright, wearing a lopsided smile. "How'd I do?" He asked, forcing himself to his feet.

"Terrible." Misty stated, walking out of the room. "They breathing?" She asked.

Jay nodded, checking them quickly. "Just knocked out." He said. "What now?" He asked.

Misty grinned and pointed down the hallway. "We run." She said. "I've got us a way out. All we need to do is get to the exit."

Shouts, followed by a loud growl echoed down the hallway. A trio of rebels were running for them, an arcanine racing ahead of them. Jay's growlithe leapt to defend his master, charging the arcanine with reckless abandon. The two dogs tangled in a mess of growls and spouts of flames. Jay's nidorino came to the rescue, ramming the arcanine from the side as Jay's growlithe disengaged.

The arcanine recoiled, pulling itself off nidorino's horn with a howl. Nidorino turned and raised its hind legs. The arcanine turned back to face the nidorino at precisely the wrong moment. Nidorino connected with the arcanine's face with the full force of its hind legs. The arcanine spun in the air, coming to rest at the guards' feet.

One guard paused for a moment, returning the arcanine to its ball.

Jay turned and shouting an order. "Growlithe, set the floor on fire!"

"Are you fucking insane?!" Misty shouted. "You'll kill everyone down here!"

Jay ignored her, still shouting at his growlithe. "Set the goddamn floor on fire!"

Ever the loyal companion, growlithe ground to a halt. It planted its feet and spat a wall of flame that forced the pursuing guards to break off their chase. Growlithe spat a second stream of fire, adding to the inferno before bounding off after its master.

Jay and Misty rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. A wall of shields met them, spears poking out through the holes in the shield wall.

"Here goes nothing." Whispered Misty. She looked at Jay and spat an order at him. "Hold your breath, arms at your sides." She sighed in frustration. "Whatever you do, don't move. Apparently that makes this more dangerous."

Jay complied, not waiting to ask what Misty's plan was. Before the wall of spears could advance, he felt something tug on his shoulder. He fell back and let the darkness swallow him, too terrified to move.

* * *

Wave after wave of Rocket troopers broke upon the wall of pokemon. Hordes of men were battered aside, an onix's tail or a rhydon's bulk crushing them. What few men did manage to pass through the gauntlet of death found themselves completely exposed for a raichu or magneton to pick off with their electricity.

That's where Alan found himself. Surrounded by death, not a single good option left. He took one bolt of electricity to his shield and thanked his lucky stars that it hadn't hit his armour. He turned, making the split second decision to wade back into the gauntlet of rocks.

Alan cursed loudly, dodging a rhydon's falling tail. He jammed his sword into a gap between the massive pokemon's scales. It recoiled and spun, turning its back to the horde of Rocket soldiers. Dozens leapt at the opportunity, spears and swords jamming into every gap in the pokemon's scaly hide. It spun, sweeping its tail along the ground. The attacking Rockets were swept away and picked off by bolts of lightning from the mercenaries' ranks.

Alan sheathed his sword and clambered atop the rhydon, forcing his feet into the gaps between scales. He pulled himself up, holding of for dear life as the rhydon swung wildly at the Rockets swarming its feet. He steadied himself, unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the rhydon's eye. The rhydon dropped like its strings had been cut, it's brain skewered on Alan's sword. Alan went flying, losing his sword in the process. He crashed to the ground, rolling out of the rhydon's path.

He forced himself to his feet, cheers meeting his ears. A sword was forced into his hand, replacing his lost weapon. He felt himself forced forwards, and found himself pushed out of the crowd and in front of a raging golem. He shouted a war cry and charged, sword held high.

The golem simply batted him back into the horde, bowling over a line of men. The crowd of Rockets backed off, allowing the golem room to move. It stepped forward and was taken from the side by a force of riders. The Rocket cavalry bowled over the golem, continuing their charge along the wall of pokemon. Pokemon after pokemon fell, downed by lances piercing their thick hides.

The few onix in the formation fell back, running from the devastating cavalry charge. A barrage of electricity arced from the mercenaries' ranks, dissipating against a psychic barrier that sprung up in front of the Rocket cavalry. The cavalry formed up for a second charge and the barrier dropped. The cavalry charged, their numbers cut in half by a second barrage of electricity. The cavalry plunged into the mercenaries ranks, followed quickly by the Rocket soldiers.

Alan forced himself to his feet, his left leg screaming in pain. He retrieved the sword at his side and stalked towards the clashing soldiers.

A charizard landed on the rear of the Rocket's ranks, immediately belching a glut of flames that roasted the men around it alive. It's rider leapt off its back, plunging into the horde of Rocket soldiers.

Alan charged, putting as much weight as he could on his wounded leg. He abandoned his shield, taking his sword with both hands. He leapt at the charizard and brought his sword down, plunging it through the center of the charizard's back and out its chest. Alan felt the charizard's heart beat twice, tearing itself to pieces on his blade.

The charizard turned, wrenching Alan's sword from his grip. It bellowed a challenge at him, bearing its teeth. The charizard stumbled forward and fell, losing its ability to stand as it moaned in agony. Alan jumped on the beast's back and pulled his sword free in a spurt of blood. The charizard moaned and attempted to rise. Alan placed his foot at the base of the charizard's neck and raised his sword. He stabbed the beast at the base of its skull, skewering the brain. The charizard thrashed once and laid still, dying under Alan's feet.

The charizard's rider turned, hearing his pokemon's death cry. He choked back a sob and charged, bellowing madly. He lowered his shoulder, driving himself into Alan's side. The Rocket and the mercenary went down in a tangle of limbs, Alan flailing wildly in an attempt to right himself. The mercenary landed on top of him, hands finding their way around Alan's throat.

Alan scratched at the man's face, digging his fingers into the mercenary's eye sockets. He screamed as Alan dug his fingers into his eyes and gouged them out. Hot blood poured out, drenching Alan in the crimson liquid. The mercenary recoiled, throwing himself back while screaming in pain. It was Alan's turn to leap on top of the mercenary. He pulled the mercenary's knife free from its sheath on his belt and plunged it into the mercenary's throat. The mercenary choked on his own blade, blood pouring down his throat. Alan pulled the knife free, covering himself in a new layer of blood in the process. He steadied the mercenary's head and rammed the knife through his temple.

The mercenary dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Alan dropped him, releasing the knife and retrieving the man's sword. A devastating roar shook the very earth beneath his feet. He turned the the river, and the beast rising from the water. The gyarados roared again, vibrating Alan's eardrums. He looked up at the beast and ran, loyalty forgotten in the face of certain death.

* * *

"FORM UP, YOU BASTARDS!" Bellowed Lord Galbert. "Open the damn gates." He swung himself of a dragonair that one of his aides released from a ball.

He ordered. The gates swung open, allowing the ranks of Cerulean soldiers to file out. Lord Galbert filed out last, his dragonair proudly bearing his massive weight. A retinue of bodyguards followed, each of them riding a pokemon of their own.

One of his bodyguards pointed at the tree line. "I see the rebels!" He shouted. "They're charging!"

Hundreds of men charged out of the trees, covering the distance between the two armies in shocking time. Dozens of pokemon broke ahead of the main body, carving a path deep into the main body of the Rocket army. The main force of the rebels made contact with the bracing Rocket troops and erupted into a hellish pit of flying swords and spears.

Lord Galbert grimaced, reluctantly ordering a charge. The front of his force charged, crossing the bridge as quickly as they could. Galbert's own men hit the Rocket army as its attention turned to the rebels. Their attention shifted again, now beset on three sides by attacking armies.

The fighting grew closer, and Lord Galbert steeled himself. He drew his sword, thinking of nothing but the coming battle. Then his forces hit the Rockets. His dragonair launched itself into the air, coming down behind the Rocket shield wall. He raised his sword and roared a war cry, ready to tear apart any Rocket who dared face him.

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

Jay popped out of a shadow, gasping for air. He stumbled to his knees, coughing up a viscous black liquid. Misty appeared out of the same shadow. She bent over, vomiting the remains of her last meal into the dirt.

"Jay?" She asked. He didn't answer, too busy retching violently. "Fuck…" She paused. "You ok?"

"What the fuck was that?" He answered, ignoring her question.

She shrugged, some colour returning to her face. "I think that was our way out." She said. "I don't fucking know. Ask the damn pokemon."

Jay froze, only now noticing the shifting black shape in the shadow. Two bright yellow eyes stared back at him, studying his eyes. The eyes closed, and the pokemon melted into the shadows, no longer content to allow itself to remain visible.

Jay looked up at Misty cautiously. "What was that?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Beats me." She said. "It wanted to help though, so it can't be all that bad."

Jay shook his head. "Misty, that looked like an umbreon."

"What are those?" She asked. "Please tell me something good."

Jay shuddered, remembering the professor's lessons. "They're creepy, vindictive, psychotic pranksters from hell."

"You know it can talk, right?" She asked. "It probably heard you."

He threw his arms up in the air and sighed in frustration. "Great." He said. "And I just insulted it." He stood up shakily, knees not yet ready to bear his weight. "Come on, we've gotta get ourselves as far away from here as possible. I don't want to be anywhere near an umbreon when night hits."

* * *

 _Have to get away._

You ran. You got away. What's the plan now? It's been two weeks, get your act together.

So many teeth. So many dead.

You could've taken it. You're tough as shit. You're a fucking badass, get your fucking act together.

Smelled like death.

So did you. You killed a charizard… And a rhydon. And the charizard's rider too for that matter. Don't forget the boy back in Saffron, the rebel prisoners, or Alicia. You kill people all the time.

I want to live. I can't go back.

You're right about that. They'll kill you for running. So get your act together.

Not if I disappear.

Coward.

I'm no coward.

You ran.

Any sane person would have. It was a fucking gyarados for Mew's sake.

You're a Rocket. A tough as shit, no shits given, badass motherfucker. And you ran away like a little girl.

I'm a Rocket. I'm a tough as shit, badass motherfucker.

Not anymore you aren't.

So where should I go?

Where do you think, idiot? The one place that Team Rocket will never go.

Lavender Town. But there's a mountain range in the way.

Better start hoofing it then. Not like any of these cattle will survive the trip.

Leave them behind? But they're like me. They're scared.

Well unless you can scrounge up enough food to feed a few dozen men and mon, then they ain't coming.

We aren't leaving them. They'll die too if they stay. They're coming.

Your funeral.

Yours too.

Well then, you've got a ton to do. Better get started.

One of the deserters shifted, rousing Alan from his mental conversation. Alan stood up, taking stock of their meagre group. Thirty-two men were scattered around a series of dying campfires. He opened his bag, counting the supplies he'd stolen off the farms during his forced march east. Three small canisters of water, one half empty, and a small sack of grain greeted him. He sighed in frustration and stood up.

"Everyone up!" He shouted, impersonating his old drill sergeant as best as he could. A few blank stares met his, nobody spared the effort to move. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath. "I SAID UP! ON YOUR FEET SOLDIERS, OR YOU WILL BE LEFT BEHIND!" He bellowed.

Alan's threat got results, bringing well over half the deserters to their feet. He fumed silently, glaring daggers at the deserters that hadn't gotten to their feet. "I WILL NOT REPEAT MYSELF!" He bellowed, throat burning from the stress. "ON YOUR FUCKING FEET!"

The last of the deserters stood up, no longer interested in defying Alan. "POOL YOUR SUPPLIES!" He shouted. "I WANT A FULL COUNT BEFORE THE SUN RISES." Nobody moved, prompting another shout from Alan. "MOVE IT ROCKETS!"

Nobody moved, save for one man. He sat back down, turning his back on Alan. The furious former Rocket stormed over to the sitting man. "Did I tell you to sit?" Alan asked, his voice icy calm.

"Did I say I wou…"

Alan's boot silenced him, knocking the man out cold. He turned to the crowd of soldiers behind him and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I give you something to do?"

The crowd burst into movement, tearing their packs apart to appease their violent saviour.

 _You enjoyed that._

 _So?_

 _You're starting to sound like me._

 _These people don't need me, they need you. They need motivation, not compassion._

 _I know. Sometimes a kick in the nads does wonders for a man's motives._

 _And if it doesn't?_

 _Well his face does make a good target too._

 _You're a smug bastard, you know that?_

 _And you're talking to yourself._

 _I guess we're both crazy then._

 _Speak for yourself kid, I'm perfectly sane. You're the one having an argument with his brain._

* * *

 _So I found a new job. Took me under a week too. I got fucking lucky. The rant was important to me though, so I felt like it should stay. I hate to say it, but with how my dismissal went at my previous job I don't know if I'll be keeping my current one. I'll keep you posted, but right now things are a little precarious to say the least. But hey, at least I'll make rent. Who needs groceries anyway?_

 _EDIT: I'm looking for 2 beta readers. One to bounce my ideas off, and one to spellcheck one last time before I post the chapter. Leave a review or drop me a pm if you're interested._

 _EDIT AGAIN: I redid my profile page. Check it out and vote on the pole if you havent_ _already._


	21. After

"Ash!" Gary shouted. "Snap out of it."

Ash looked at him blankly. He blinked once, then his gaze returned to the concrete wall of the bunker. "Why would he just leave?" He said softly.

"Ash, he might've been your friend but he's gone." Gary stated. "He killed a guard in his escape, sucked him right into the shadows along with Misty."

"No, there's something we don't know." Ash said. "Jay wouldn't just abduct Misty and run. He would've had a reason. He would've needed a reason…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish his thought.

"Ash, he didn't need a reason. You heard the general." Gary said. "He was under the influence of an extremely powerful ghost. And all the evidence of distortion ripples in the bunker prove that he had outside help in his escape."

Ash didn't answer him directly, sinking further down into his chair. "He couldn't…"

Gary rose to his feet, getting out of the chair he was seated in. "Ash! Snap the fuck out of it!" When the younger trainer didn't respond, Gary grabbed the edge of Ash's leather chest piece and hauled him to his feet. "I don't give a fuck how upset you are. We need to finish what we came here to do." He let go of Ash and took a step back. "Like it or not, we are the Rebellion." He took a breath. "And I can't do it all alone. If I'm gonna be Blue, then you've gotta be Red." He paused, letting that sink in. "C'mon Ash, I need you."

Ash smirked slightly, some life returning to his eyes. "The friends that brought an empire to its knees." He remarked in a sullen tone.

Gary smiled at him, trying to comfort his friend. "Except, this time we don't stop until the Empire is nothing but ashes."

Ash grinned. "You said that on purpose."

"Maybe. What are you gonna do about it?" Gary said, almost taunting him. "Run away? Hide in a shell?"

"No." Ash said quickly.

"Then what are you gonna do?" Gary asked again.

Ash took a breath, and finally looked Gary in the eyes. "Bring Lance down."

Gary grinned at him, opening the door to the dreary hallway. "Then let's go claim that inheritance we never got."

* * *

Brock looked up from his table in time to see Daisy storm in, followed by a very distraught looking man. "M'Lady." He said in a baritone voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She furrowed her brow and massaged her temples. "You remember Preston Galbert?" She asked, motioning to the man at her side. "He's brought news of the hunt for the Rocket remnants in the foothills before Rock Tunnel."

Brock shook his head, regarding the man with caution. "No, I don't think we met after the battle. Too much to do I'm afraid." He rose to his feet and tipped his head in a nod. "I'm sorry for your loss. Your father saved us all with that charge, even if it cost him his life. He'll be honoured alongside Pewter's greatest heroes."

The young man dropped into a deep bow. "I thank you for your kind words M'lord. But that's not why I've come. I bring news of the Rocket army." He hesitated, Brock motioning for him to continue. "They're still retreating. Most of their forces are splitting off, deserting at every turn. We've caught wind of a few rumours from those we've captured, and frankly they aren't encouraging. Most of the army is dissolving into warring groups of raiders that are tearing the foothills apart." He paused, hesitating. "Cerulean is going to have a problem feeding itself soon. Those foothills were a huge part of our food supply, and without them we'll need to have the trawlers haul in more than they already are."

Daisy frowned and pulled a bundle of scrolls from the folds of her overcoat. "These are the fishing reports from the last ten years." She sighed and dropped into a chair opposite Brock. "We're running out of fish, and fast. Cerulean Cape won't be able to support the city in under a year."

Silence fell on the room. Brock looked up at Preston, a solemn look on his face. "Pewter can't spare much food, but we'll share what little we've got. It won't be enough, but it'll buy us some time." Brock paused, contemplating his options. "Viridian won't help. I've never even met Lord Sakai, and he's got extremely close ties to Blackthorn. We're practically rebels at this point, so I wouldn't count on any support from anyone close to the throne."

"What about Celadon?" Daisy said. "Last time we spoke to Lady Erika, we parted on good terms."

Brock shook his head. "Even if she would help us, how would they get the food here? The wilds are too damn dangerous to send convoys through, and the only safe route passes right by Saffron. With the Rockets' controlling that route, we wouldn't be able to sneak a small party past them much less enough food to feed a whole city."

"Vermillion and Fuchsia are both under Rocket control as well, so that rules them out. Lavender?" Daisy asked.

"No good. I'm pretty sure they don't even eat actual food there. Which leaves us with only one option. Cinnabar Island is the only place that can supply Cerulean until it can get back to its feet." Brock finished, looking at Daisy.

"I was afraid of that" she said. "If we go to Cinnabar, then we are declaring ourselves against Lance. Are we ready for that?"

Brock shook his head. "No, but what other choice do we have? We need the food."

Daisy rose from the chair, collecting the scrolls she had laid out. "Then we'd better prepare a ship. It's a month long trip by sea, and we're running out of time." She looked up at Brock. "One of us should stay here. Cerulean still needs a leader. I'm trusting you to take care of her while I'm gone."

"With all due respect, the city needs its Lady. I should be the one to go" he said. "I've got more experience with negotiations, and I wouldn't be able to keep order here nearly as well as you would. It is your city after all."

Daisy shook her head, smirking. "Brock the Rock at sea?" She asked with a laugh. "That's something that'll never happen. Like you said, it is my city. I need to do this."

"Very well then" Brock said. "Preston and I can keep things under control here." He laughed. "We'll keep her safe while you're gone M'lady." He stood up and held out a hand for her to shake.

She raised an eyebrow and regarded Brock's hand with incredulity. "Still haven't come to terms with the whole marriage thing, have you?"

Brock chuckled softly and put his hand down. He stepped around the table and pulled Daisy into a crushing hug. "Come back safe" he whispered. "We need you."

* * *

"Again!" Shouted Ethan.

Lyra raised her sword again, stalking towards Ethan. He mirrored her, his sword at the ready in his left hand. Lyra charged with a cry, attempting to run her sword through Ethan's chest. Ethan danced away, deflecting her sword to the side. She charged again, attempting a clumsy feint. Ethan saw the feint coming and swung his sword to meet hers. They locked blades, both stepping in close to give themselves more leverage. Ethan forced her sword down with the flat of his blade, then locked her pommel against his. He spun and twisted his sword, tearing Lyra's sword from her hands. Lyra stumbled forward and was met by Ethan's boot crashing into her chest, driving the wind from her lungs. She landed flat on her back and felt the point of Ethan's sword tap her chest.

"Dead. Yet again" he said.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, panting heavily. "Just give me a second" she said between ragged breaths. "How?" She asked. "How do you always know?"

"You're too easy to read" he said. "It's all in the hips and shoulders. I can tell what you're going to do before you even attempt it. It's nothing that more practice won't fix." He looked down at her, and held out his hand.

She took it, hauling herself to her feet. "I still don't know how I'm ever going to even be half as good as you are. You're not even breaking a sweat, and you've only got one arm to use."

He looked down at his right arm, frowning. "It itches." He looked back up at her, a grin on his face.

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You weren't listening, were you?"

He shook his head. "No. My arm was itchy."

She smiled and laughed. "I'll be glad when you get that damn thing off. If only to actually carry a conversation with you again."

"What's wrong with Grams?" He asked. "I'm sure she'd carry a conversation with you. And Grandpa would talk your ear off if you gave them a chance."

She shrugged. "They lack the same enthusiasm that you've got."

Ethan shook his head, and turned to head back up to the house. "C'mon, we're done for today. I've got something I wanted to show you."

"What is it?" She asked

"Remember the conversation we had the night we got here?" He asked.

Her eyes lit up. "Ethan, you better not be shitting me. You didn't."

"I did" he said, grin stretching from ear to ear. "He's waiting on your bed."

She jumped at him, squeezing the air from his lungs with her hug. "What's his name?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"You get to choose" he said. "He's all yours."

She practically squealed with glee as she tore off for the house. Ethan followed her slowly, a happy smile worn on his face.

* * *

"Which way, Shepherd?" One of the former grunts asked.

Alan pushed his way out of the crowd, giving himself a clear view of his options.

"I don't think there's an over land route to Lavender." One of the men said. "I thought you had to go through the mountains to get there."

"If there's a way that doesn't involve us going underground, I say we take it. Our food stores won't last more than a week and who knows how long going under the mountains will take." Another grunt suggested.

Another grunt spoke up, adding to the noise. Alan turned away from the group, studying what he could see. The opening on the wall of rock was clearly carved out by human hands, but darkness covered everything barely a few meters into the cave. Alan turned to the other path and gasped. It was barely wide enough for two men to walk side-by-side, and bordered on each side by a sheer cliff.

Alan looked back at the men who followed him, and made his decision. "We go over land. Keep your right hand on the wall at all times. We walk single file. You have anything important to add, you tap the man in front of you and he passes it on." Without waiting for an answer, he started off down the path. One by one, the former Rockets followed him.

Misty stepped out of the brush, checking the surroundings. She turned back to the brush, and whistled softly. Jay trampled his way out of the brush, nearly stumbling over a knot of roots at his feet.

"No noise." Misty hissed. "We don't know if they're out of earshot."

"Did they go the right way?" Jay asked quietly.

Misty shook her head. "No, we won't have to worry about them anymore."

"Why not?" Jay asked.

Misty smirked. "That's the path to the old power plant" she said. "It's been shut down for years."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "So why do we not have to worry about them?" He asked.

"Because they're walking right into the God of Lightning's lair."

Jay spun, looking at the unassuming path. "Gods… Zapdos…"

"Yup. And he doesn't take kindly to visitors" she remarked. "I doubt that any of those men are gonna come back down that path."

"So we have to go underground?" Jay asked cautiously.

Misty nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, yes. I think I remember the fastest route through, so we should be out by tomorrow night if we keep up a good speed."

Jay groaned, and released his growlithe. "Stay by my side boy, we're gonna be going in there." He pointed at the cave opening. Growlithe whimpered and hid behind his leg. "Great, I don't even have my guard pokemon." He sighed and pulled one of the flashlights Misty had stolen from the rebel base from his bag. He flicked it on and shone it into the darkness. "Ready?"

Misty rolled her eyes and pulled out her own flashlight. She motioned for Jay to go first, then followed him in. Slowly, their lights faded from view as they went further into the cave.

* * *

"Delia, please! It's not like I meant for this to happen!" Samuel Oak shouted. His eyes widened and he ducked, narrowly avoiding a flying bottle that smashed against the cramped apartment's wall behind him.

"He's my fucking son!" She shouted. "You sent him off to fight a war! A war that he can't win!"

"Delia please! He's practically an adult." He ducked under another flying bottle. "Delia you knew this would happen."

"No!" She shrieked. "I swore it wouldn't. I swore to stop it." She raised another bottle but Oak was at her side, pulling the bottle from her hand. "And what about Gary? Caught two pokemon, then lost both of them? He's just a kid! He's your grandson for fuck's sake, do you even care about his mental state?"

Oak put the bottle down on the table gingerly, stinging from Delia's verbal assault. "I wouldn't have sent them to Cerulean if I didn't think they could handle it" he said. "Look, it's not like they're alone. All the reports I've heard indicate that they've arrived at the rebel base. Bill will take care of them. He'll train them himself if he has to."

"And what about Jay? We read the same report."

Oak grimaced and furrowed his brow. "It's odd to say the least. Without being there, I can't even speculate on what actually happened." He took a step away from her. "Look, we're stuck here. I know it's difficult, but you can't fall apart like this. I need your help. I can't take care of Daisy on my own."

Delia collapsed into the chair behind her, sighing heavily. "Just remind me why we're here Sam. What was so important that you had to drag us across Johto?"

He turned around grinning. "Hopefully, the key to bringing Lance down."

"What does that mean?" She asked.

Oak sighed and took his place in the chair opposite her. "Matthew's rebellion failed because he had no support from the west. He couldn't bring Lance down alone, and that's what caused his failure." He looked down at the floor. "Are you sure you want to know why we're here?"

She nodded, not saying anything.

"We're here to make sure that Ethan Gold's son unites Johto. That egg we sent him to find? It's a dragon killer. We're arming him for war." He sighed, looking back up at her. "We're in Goldenrod right now because I've been negotiating an alliance with the Lady Whitney on his behalf. Elm went to Olivine to do the same."

Delia blinked, taking a breath. "Does he know?" She asked. "Does he know what you're planning?"

Oak shook his head. "Not yet. We were going to allow him time to rest before we set everything in motion."

Delia shook her head, holding it in her hands. "I can't believe you… You're a manipulative bastard, you know that?"

Oak nodded, smiling softly. "I have been called that many times. Never has it made me so sad to hear."

She stood up, and turned to leave the cramped apartment. "For your sake, you better hope that it was worth it." She opened the door, glancing back at him. "Because if my son doesn't survive, then you won't." The door slammed behind her, leaving Oak alone.

* * *

"M'lord, there is still the issue of the Rocket encampment across the river."

Brock looked up at Preston, bearing an annoyed look. "How many Rocket corpses do we have left?" He asked.

"M'lord?" Preston answered, confused.

"How many?" Brock asked again.

"I don't know M'lord. I'm not acquainted with the reports."

Brock sighed and pointed at a pile of papers on the desk before him. "The report is in there somewhere." He motioned around him at the mountain of other papers and huffed in frustration. "I vaguely remember seeing a body count among all this tauros shit."

Preston shifted through the pile, pulling a lone paper free after barely a minute of searching. "Our dead number at six-hundred and thirty-seven. The wounded number at nine-hundred and seventy-two." He scanned the paper searching for the Rockets' information. He cleared his throat as he found it. "One-thousand, four-hundred and twelve dead. Unknown number of wounded. All wounded Rocket soldiers were left on the field of battle as per Lord Brock's orders." He looked up at Brock, disgusted.

Brock caught the look, returning a questioning look of his own. "Yes?" He asked.

"You ordered the wounded Rockets to be left on the field?" Preston asked.

"Yes." Brock answered curtly.

Preston put the paper back down and shook his head. "That's barbaric. It's not right…" He paused. "It's just wrong. How could you?"

Brock leaned forward, abandoning the paperwork he'd been working away at. "How old are you?" He asked.

"Seventeen, M'lord." Preston answered. "I fail to see…"

Brock cut him off with a glare. "Too young to remember Red's Rebellion. That's what I thought." Brock stood up, towering over the youth. "I've lived through four separate wars. The rebellion was easily the bloodiest war I've ever seen. Entire families were butchered by Lance. Dynasties that had lasted since the founding of the Lavender Empire were snuffed out by the dragonlords." Brock sighed, and massaged his temples. "Another war is coming, and it threatens to be even bloodier than the rebellion was. If we are to survive, then no action is too ruthless. No slaughter is unforgivable if you win the war."

"But the rules of war, as set down by the Indigo Confederation in…"

Brock slammed his fists down on the table, interrupting Preston again. "Don't you get it? There are no rules in war. Only the victors, and the mountains of corpses that they stepped on to get there. So I will ask one last time. How many dead Rockets do we possess?"

Preston looked nervously back down at the paper on the table. "One-thousand, four-hundred and twelve at current count."

Brock nodded. "Good. Have the men recover the remaining bodies still in the field. Move all the bodies into catapult range of the Rocket encampment in preparation for the arrival of my Bannermen."

Preston nodded solemnly. "At once my lord." He rushed out of the room, concealing the tears that were forming as he went.

* * *

 _Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to Shattered Thrones, I hope you enjoyed Oak's return. I've got big plans for him, including him becoming a major POV character in the future. Apologies for the shorter chapter, but I'm putting out chapter 2 of Edge of a Revolution today to offset some of the lack of length._

 _EDIT: I read the words wrong and thought that I only had 2500 words instead of 3500. So yeah. Whatever though, extra chapter released for ya!_

 _I haven't posted a new chapter here since putting out chapter one of Edge of a Revolution, so... Surprise! Unless you read my profile. Then you knew it was coming. To those who haven't read the description on my profile, the story will be a prequel that takes place in Unova 10 years before the start of Shattered Thrones. Im writing it to bridge the gap between Shattered Thrones and its sequel, and in the process answer a question that will be raised at the end of Shattered Thrones._

 _Well that's all for now! Have a great weekend! Sqcircles out!_


	22. Dying Again

"Get him under control!" Ethan roared. "He's an animal, treat him like one."

The juvenile teddiursa swiped at Lyra's midsection, attempting to disembowel her. His claws bounced off a barrier that Eon erected in front of Lyra. The teddiursa fell backwards, his weight off balance after bouncing off Eon's barrier.

"Lyra, you need to impose your will on him. He's a solitary animal, he respects strength." Ethan looked at Eon, and nodded. The xatu dropped the barrier separating Lyra from the teddiursa. "Now show him your strength. Project it in your voice. Force your will to overcome his own."

The teddiursa got to its feet, glaring daggers at Lyra. It lowered its head, growling at her. Lyra summoned up what courage she could muster and planted her heels in the dirt. The teddiursa let out a low roar, and bounded towards her. Eon's barrier sprung up, knocking the teddiursa on its ass.

Lyra swelled up her chest, and let out a triumphant shout. The teddiursa glared at her and got back to its feet, still growling.

"No" Lyra said firmly. The teddiursa dropped its head as if to charge. "NO!" Lyra shouted forcefully. The teddiursa hesitated for less than half a second, then charged again. Eon's barrier was there, knocking the teddiursa back to the dirt.

"Better, but he only hesitated" Ethan said. "I want to see him fear you. He needs to know that challenging you for dominance is useless. I want you to inspire fear in his eyes. I want you to make him loyal." Lyra opened her mouth to protest, but Ethan stopped her. "You wanted a pokemon that can fight. I'm giving you one. This is how you train a teddiursa. They're animals, not pets." He sighed, and patted Lyra on the shoulder. "Try again, this time use his name."

Lyra swallowed the lump in her throat, and nodded. "Again" she said. "Lower the barrier."

Eon's barrier dropped, and the teddiursa let out an angry bellow. It dug its claws into the dirt and charged, roaring angrily.

Lyra took one step forward and planted her feet. "Koda, NO!"

* * *

Jay ducked under the low hanging rock and turned around, lighting the opening for Misty to duck under. "How much further?" He asked. "We've gotta be close by now."

Misty shook her head. "I feel like we're going in circles" she said. "We should've been there by now."

"I thought you said you knew the way through?" Jay asked.

"I thought I did" she said. "Things seem different down here. It's like someone collapsed the tunnels that were here and tunnelled new ones…" Her voice trailed off. "But I don't think that these new tunnels were carved by humans."

"Misty, are there onix under Lavender Mountain?" Jay asked slowly.

An onix burst through the wall of the tunnel behind them, answering his question for him. It spotted them, and shrieked madly. The onix sped after them, widening the tunnel with every movement of its body.

Misty took off like a rocket, screaming for Jay to follow. Jay didn't hesitate, dashing after Misty.

"Misty, I can't see a thi-" a solid wall of smooth rock cut him off. He fell back, blood streaming from his broken nose. The wall of rock rumbled and turned, tearing apart the tunnel walls. Jay rolled away from the moving wall of rock, narrowly avoiding being crushed by falling rocks. Jay scrambled to his feet, pointing the flashlight up at the moving wall of rock.

The flashlight's beam swept up the wall of rock, revealing the beast's true shape. The tyranitar planted its feet into the rock, and roared a challenge that shook the newly formed cavern. The onix abandoned its pursuit of Jay and Misty, facing down the much larger threat. The onix launched itself at the tyranitar, coiling around the beast's chest. The tyranitar broke free of the onix's coils and tossed the pokemon into the wall of the cavern, shattering the brittle rock.

Jay hauled himself to his feet, keeping the flashlight trained on the massive tyranitar. Misty appeared behind him, hauling him away from the onix's flailing tail.

"I found another tunnel!" She shouted. "Let's go, befo-"

Another onix burst from one of the cavern walls, knocking the tyranitar to its knees. The first onix launched itself at the tyranitar, coiling around its chest while the other onix coiled itself around the beast's legs. The tyranitar flailed, knocking the first onix into a wall. The massive titan tore the second onix off its body, and swung it into the first onix. The cavern wall cracked open, sunlight spilling into the room.

Jay and Misty recoiled from the sudden burst of sunlight, eyes used to the darkness of the cave. The tyranitar's reaction was far worse. It shrieked in pain and dropped to one knee, shielding its eyes with one arm. The onix however, weren't affected by the sunlight. They launched themselves at the tyranitar again, attempting to take advantage of its weakened state.

Jay turned to look at the tunnel behind him and yelped. He grabbed Misty's arm and hauled her out of the way, allowing a third onix to barrel past them and into the tyranitar's side.

"Go for the opening!" He shouted. "It's our best chance!"

Misty bolted for the gaping hole in the mountainside, followed closely by Jay. An onix's tail slammed into the rock directly in front of them. Jay scrambled backwards, losing track of Misty and desperately trying to avoid the hail of rock that the onix kicked up. The onix's tail moved, and Jay bolted for the opening a second time. The tail of an onix slammed into the ground in front of Jay again. Jay attempted to vault over the tail, taking desperate measures to get away from the carnage. Jay landed as the onix yanked its tail away, whipping it towards the tyranitar.

Jay resumed his mad dash for the gaping hole in the mountain, frantically searching for Misty. He skidded to a halt, looking down at the sheer drop in front of him. He heard a yelp of fear, and saw Misty skid to a halt on a rock outcropping thirty feet down the mountain. Her starmie appeared with a flash of light while she frantically gestured up at Jay.

Jay took a glance behind him and jumped, followed by tons of wrestling pokémon. Jay landed beside Misty and grabbed hold of her arm. Acting on only mad instinct, he leapt off the outcropping. The outcropping exploded under the weight of the falling pokemon, sending rock shards in every direction. Jay felt his descent slow, then saw his vision tinge purple. Misty's starmie appeared at his shoulder, steadying their descent.

"Keep us ahead of them!" Jay shouted. "Aim for the water!"

Misty's starmie shot forward, pouring on speed with Jay and Misty in tow. A thunderous crash tore through the air, the tyranitar and the onix carving a new path down the mountain with their bodies. Jay caught a glance of an avalanche of rocks following them down the mountain. He looked forward, and registered the wall of water rushing towards them.

"Slow us down!" He shouted over Misty's screams. "Or we're gonna die when we hit the water."

Misty's starmie let out a pained tone, it's central jewel flickering. Jay saw the purple aura around him falter, and felt himself accelerate. Knowing he was running out of time, he curled his arms around Misty.

"Find me" he said.

Before Misty could register what he had said or ask what he had meant, Jay let go of her. He felt himself tear away from Misty, and out of her starmie's psychic grip. He hit the water at terminal velocity, not knowing if he had saved Misty's life.

* * *

"Shepherd! There's something up ahead."

 _You hear that, Alan? Your flock is calling you. Maybe this time they need you to wipe someone's ass for them._

"Where's the Shepherd?"

 _They're looking for you. The damn fools are lost without you._

"Oh my god. Someone get the Shepherd. We've got a body."

 _Well Alan, I guess it's time for you to go save their lives again. This is fun, isn't it? When are you gonna learn that sticking your neck out is a good way to get it cut off?_

Alan pushed his way past a pair of his men, forcing his way through the crowd. A lone body lay there, burnt far beyond recognition. Alan looked down the narrow path warily, then back down at the body.

 _So what's the plan, Shepherd? You gonna keep driving your flock to their deaths?_

"Maybe a charizard attack?" The man beside Alan wondered aloud. "Nothing else could have caused these burns."

 _Oh I can think of a few things that could've caused that burn. None of them are good._

Alan stood up, eyes still locked on the burned man. "Keep moving" he ordered. "Charizard won't attack a group this large, but I'll still feel better once we're out of these mountains."

 _That's not a charizard attack and you know it. That's something even more powerful. Lie to them all you want , but it won't help you protect them. You better hope that whatever did that isn't around, or else they're all going to die._

"Shepherd!" A voice shouted from further down the path. "The path opens to a clearing. You're gonna want to see this."

 _You already know what you're gonna find. You've heard the stories. You're already dead._

Alan forced himself through the crowd. He burst out into the clearing, and gaped up at the massive building that lay there. A massive hole had been torn in its side, leaving debris scattered all over the clearing. A faint glow emanated from the hole. The man who had called for him stood in front of a sign, tearing a layer of overgrown plant life off a wooden sign.

 _Do you really need to read the sign? You know where you are._

"Kanto National Power Plant…" Alan muttered, reading the sign. "Zapdos… Mew help us."

 _Goodbye Alan. It was nice knowing you._

An earth-shattering shriek tore through the air, bringing a rock slide down on the narrow path. The former Rockets still on the path were swept away by the avalanche of rock. Another shriek ripped through the air and Alan felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

The glow inside the plant grew stronger, forcing Alan to cover his eyes. He felt the static electricity in the air grow stronger, until the air itself was crackling with the sharp sounds of electricity. He opened his eyes and fell to his knees. Zapdos stood before him, electricity jumping between the jagged points of its wings.

Alan closed his eyes, not wanting to see what happened next. He heard one final shriek and then the world exploded around him.

* * *

"You are quickly becoming much more trouble than you are worth."

Jay opened his eyes, already knowing where he was. "How much trouble am I worth?" He asked.

The grey lady sat back in her floating rocking chair and sighed. "Enough that you have grabbed my undivided attention." She cocked her head to her left and raised an eyebrow. "What made you think that jumping off a cliff for a second time was a good idea?"

Jay smirked. "Technically I didn't jump the first time. The ground kinda crumbled underneath me."

A withering glare from the crone cut off his chuckle before it began. "Do you think I am amused?" She asked. "Your life is a waste of my strength, and I have precious little strength left to spare. So tell me, why should I waste my strength on your life?"

"Because you need me" Jay said quickly. "We wouldn't be having this conversation if you didn't."

The crone smiled, and shook her head. "You don't even know your own importance. Yet you act like you are entitled to my help."

"I'm not entitled to anything," Jay said. "Except maybe a stiff drink. But I know that you're going to help me. I'm important to you."

She frowned, and furrowed her brow. "You're right, but I don't have to like it." She stood up, her chair floating off into the swirling storm of miasma. "Go back to your world Jason. Our time here is done."

"Wait!" Jay shouted. "I want information. I want to know why I'm so important."

The crone shook her head. "It is not my place to tell you. Seek out the elder at Lavender Town. He will teach you what you need to know."

Jay shook his head in return. "That's not good enough."

The old woman laughed. "It is good enough for me." She laughed, and Jay felt his vision fade to black.

* * *

Jay jumped awake, coughing out what felt like gallons of water. He rolled off his back and coughed until he felt like his lungs were on fire. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, chest heaving. Misty appeared at his side and slapped him across the face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shrieked. "Why the fuck did you let go? Are you trying to kill me?"

"No," Jay said back. "I was trying to save you. Judging by the fact that you're screaming in my face, it worked."

She slapped him again. "Don't you dare do that to me. You don't get to nobly sacrifice yourself for me. I'm not your damsel in distress."

"I never said you-"

She interrupted him with another slap. "Just shut up." She ordered. "I wasn't done." She stood up, distancing herself from him. "I thought you were gone, alright?" She turned back to look at him. "Look, I'm not good with the whole touchy feely stuff. I care about you. Don't go do something stupid like that again."

Jay stood up, expression softening. "Misty, I was only trying to keep you alive. Starmie couldn't slow us both down fast enough, so I let go. I knew that I had a chance at surviving a fall like that. You didn't." He took a step towards her. "I care about you too Misty. That's why I let go." He took another step. "Because if it's between me and you, I'd choose you every time."

Misty looked away. "You could have died" she said. "Then where would I-"

Jay pulled her into a kiss, cutting her off. He pulled his head back and smiled. "I'm not going anywhere," he said. "I'm with you till the end."

 _"Oh for the love of Mew."_ An umbreon stepped out of their shadows. It cocked its head at them and its voice appeared in their minds again. _"I've never seen two humans be so absolutely infuriating."_

"Umbreon!" Jay shouted, startled by the pokemon's sudden appearance. He grabbed at his side, looking for his sword. His hand brushed an empty scabbard, and the umbreon gave him a look of annoyance.

 _"There won't be any need for that Mr. Gould. We do have a schedule to keep. You made good time with your whole jump off a mountain idea, but if you don't get moving then you'll miss it."_

Jay drew back, his hand brushing cautiously against the pair of balls on his belt. "Miss what?" He asked.

The umbreon drew closer to him, studying his reactions. _"The gates of the city close at sundown. You can still get there in time, and that would probably be for the best."_ It looked between Jay and Misty, studying them. _"You two wouldn't last an hour out here at night."_

Misty planted her feet in the dirt and crossed her arms. "So what are you suggesting?" She asked sceptically.

The umbreon turned around, facing away from the shoreline. _"Let me take you to the city. I know the terrain, and the pokemon around here tend to keep their distance from me."_

Jay shook his head. "You really think we're gonna follow you?" He laughed. "I'm not going anywhere with one of hell's pranksters."

The umbreon cocked its head to the side. _"I think you will. The alternative is staying with him."_

The tyranitar burst from the water and surged onto the shore, showering them all with water and silt. Jay grabbed Misty's arm, and ran for the tree line. The umbreon leapt into a shadow, and reappeared in front of Jay and Misty. A black pit opened on the ground in front of them, sucking them into the dark.

The tyranitar roared and stomped forwards, wiping away the black mark left behind on the ground.

* * *

 _Well, there isn't really a good way to say this or start this kinda talk. My dog died. I kinda lost the will to do anything for a little while. Sorry for the wait, things should keep going at the pace they were before._

 _On a much happier note, it's St. Patty's day so I'm gonna go finish my beer and have another 3 or 4 with my girlfriend before I leave for a 12 hour shift. Thanks everyone, have a great and safe Thursday!_

 _UPDATE: I kinda got a bit tipsy and I forgot to post this yesterday. Sorry about that everyone!_


	23. Truths

Ash stood proud in a pristine suit of crimson armour. He looked down at the helmet sitting on the table in front of him.

"Kinda surreal isn't it?" Gary said. "Our dads wore these when they led the rebels against Lance. Now it's our turn." He slipped the navy blue helmet over his head and adjusted it awkwardly. "Ready to face our men?" He asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

Ash looked up at him, half-frowning. "I guess I am. Together?" Gary nodded at him. Ash looked down and grabbed the helmet. He slipped it over the messy mop of raven coloured hair on his head. He turned towards the door, joined by Gary.

The door opened and Ash stepped out into the massive training room that dominated the rebel's bunker. Every single man and woman in the room stopped as their two figureheads stepped into their presence. A knot of people stood at the edge of the dirt training field. A lanky man wearing glasses and a set of armour clearly too large for him waved them over.

"Please boys, over here if you would." He said.

Ash and Gary walked over to him, watching him intently.

"Remove your helmets please," he asked gently. "You will be working with these men and women closely. There will be no need to keep up appearances around them."

Ash removed his helmet, shaking his mop of hair out and attempting to tame it with his fingers. He failed miserably and looked over at Gary who was frantically attempting to do the same.

The glasses wearing rebel stepped forward with a smile. "Ash, Gary," he nodded at them both. "We've been waiting sixteen years for this day. The Rebellion welcomes you." He smiled and held out his hand to them. "I am William Sonezaki. I had the honour of working with your fathers. It would be my absolute pleasure to train the two of you as best I am able."

Ash took his hand, shaking it politely. "I take it you're the Bill that professor Oak told us about."

Bill recoiled in surprise. "Samuel Oak is alive?" He asked excitedly. "Where is he? Why is he not with you?"

"He sent us ahead. We haven't heard anything since Viridian." Gary said curtly.

Bill nodded. "Samuel always did have a penchant for disappearing acts. Knowing him, he'll storm Indigo with an army before we can even mobilize." He took a step back admiring them both. "The resemblance to your fathers is remarkable. You've done them both proud." He turned pulled out a pair of pokeballs. "I have something for the both of you. Think of them as family heirlooms." He tapped the button on each of the balls, releasing the pokemon inside.

A small pink feline appeared in front of ash. It took a step towards him warily. "Matthew?" A voice asked in Ash's mind. "But you died… How?" Ash felt a presence scan through his memories, forcing him to relive them all. He staggered back a step, knees shaking. "Not Matthew."

"Ash," he said. "My name is Ash."

"Ash?" The voice said. "Matthew-son?" The pokemon turned and looked at Bill. Bill nodded solemnly. The pokemon turned back to face Ash. "Amaterasu will fight with Matthew-son."

The black feline that had appeared in front of Gary hadn't moved, instead studying the man that was wearing his former trainer's armour. "Gerald Percival Oak II…"

Gary nodded and dropped to one knee, beckoning the pokemon closer. "You must be Apollo." He said gingerly. "You fought for my father."

The umbreon nodded and took a step towards him. "And now I will fight for you." He took another step. "Will you fight for me?"

Gary nodded. "With all my strength." He said.

"They managed to escape the deaths of your fathers. They are both extremely powerful. Use them well." Bill turned to the knot of people behind him and beckoned them forward. He turned back to Ash and Gary, grinning. "And now I give you your Elites. These are the best trainers that the Rebellion has to offer. Each of them has sworn an oath to defend you with their lives." Bill took a step back, joining the men and women that stood behind him. As one, the group saluted Ash and Gary.

Gary and Ash returned the salute with somber smiles. Gary dropped his arm to his side and took a step forward. Apollo joined him, sitting silently at his side. "Well, if we're gonna down a Dragon King then we better start training."

* * *

Jay flew through the air, flung out of the shadows by the umbreon. He landed in a heap, Misty slamming into his back. He groaned as she rolled off him, his chest aching. He forced himself to his feet, joints cracking. "Remind me never to travel by shadow again." He stood up, looking down at the umbreon that sat dutifully at his feet.

"Jay, I think we're there." Misty said cautiously.

"Why do you say that?" He asked, as he turned. His eyes found the bald man in black standing in front of a massive black gate. "Oh."

The doors opened, purple mist spilling out around the man. He looked up at them and broke into a massive grin. "Come." He called. The umbreon sunk into Jay's shadow and reappeared at the man's side. "The city is not safe for the living once the sun sets. Come quickly."

Jay looked at Misty and raised an eyebrow questioningly. She nodded and took his hand. Together, they stood in front of the man. He reached out, and touched their grasping hands with his own. They were sucked into the shadows along with him, no trace of them left behind. The black gates swung shut, cutting off Lavender from the rest of the world once more.

* * *

Lyra sat up, unable to sleep despite her exhaustion. She swung her legs off the bed and stood up. A small squeak, and a rustling at the foot of her bed told her that her sentret was awake. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and patted her sentret behind its ears. The pokemon purred and pressed itself into her palm.

The door knocked loudly, startling her. "Lee!" Ethan called. "Grams wants us both down in the kitchen."

She sighed and walked over to the door, opening it. "What for?" She asked. Her sentret hopped down off the bed, joining her.

"Guests." He answered. "Don't know why they couldn't show up at a normal hour." He stepped off the stair and rounded the corner, nodding and smiling at his grandparents who were already waiting at the table for him. Another man stood at the kitchen window, looking out at the night. He grabbed the coffee pot off its place on the counter. "Professor Oak," he said, recognizing the man he had met in Elm's lab as he turned to face him. "You survived the attack."

"Thanks," Lyra said as Ethan poured her a cup of coffee. He poured himself one, and sat down beside Lyra. "What happened to the rest of New Bark?" She asked.

"Alive and well. They made it out well before Claire attacked the town." He picked up a mug off the counter and sat down at the table. "They're all staying in Goldenrod, with the exception of professor Elm. Lady Whitney has been most accommodating." He sighed and smiled softly at Ethan. "Let me explain why I'm in Johto, why I'm sitting in your kitchen."

Ethan nodded and looked to Lyra. "I don't think you'll find any complaints here. We've both been waiting for an explanation since we left for Cherrygrove."

"I suppose you both deserve that much." Oak said. "This all started about twenty years ago. You both know that I fought for Lance in his revolution. Towards the end, he started to change. He became bloodthirsty, and violent. He stopped being the champion of the people. I left his army on the eve of his attack on Indigo. Lance must have taken my departure personally, because he sent half of his Elites after me. I barely escaped with my life, and fled to the one man who might be able to help me. I went to Cinnabar, to my old Colleagues Blaine Katsura and Emmett Fuji.

Lance followed me there, and started a war when Blaine refused to give me up. Blaine won the war and kicked the Empire off his island, but I was no longer welcome on Cinnabar. I left, and resettled what remained of my family to a hidden cove.

Sixteen years ago, the Empire found us on a routine patrol. My daughter died in the attack, and my son never forgave the Empire for it. He left our little hamlet and never came back. I stayed, to take care of my son's friend's wife and the children. They came back once, on the night before they marched on Indigo. They had changed so much, grown into men in the year they had been away. Then they left, and I've never forgiven myself for doing nothing to help them."

Oak sighed and put his mug down, looking deflated. He stood up, and looked out the window again.

"So that brings me to why I'm here. I will not allow my grandson and his friend to fall like I did their fathers. I know that you bear no love for the Emperor. I'm here to make sure that you unite Johto and bring the might of the west to bear against Lance."

Ethan remained silent, staring at his coffee. He looked over at Lyra.

"If the Empire was behind the attack on New Bark then you know where I stand." She said coldly.

Ethan nodded and looked back at the professor. "I'm in. How do you plan on bringing him down?"

Oak split into a grin. "I've already got you a meeting with Lady Whitney tomorrow morning." He nodded at the cast on Ethan's arm. "How soon can that come off?"

Ethan stood up and held out his good arm. "Tonight. What is this meeting about?"

"Theoretically, she's screening candidates for a new marshal." Oak smiled knowingly. "But I'm sure you can direct the conversation in the right direction. I've gotten the impression that she's no friend to the Empire, even if half the Empire's goods pass through the ports at one time or another."

"And if I do manage to recruit her?" Ethan asked. "What's my next move?"

"Get yourself that marshal position. I'll go to Cianwood and meet with the Lord there. With any luck I'll be able to convince him to throw his lot in with a potential rebellion." Oak stood up, retrieving his coat from the back of his chair. "You need to meet with Lady Mikan of Olivine, and perhaps Lord Marin"

Ethan stood up, holding his hand out for Oak. "I take it Ecruteak and Violet weren't willing to meet with me?"

Oak shook his head. "Falkner and Morty's fathers were friends of your father. I'd hoped that they'd at least meet with you, but perhaps Lance's reign has changed that." He took Ethan's hand and shook it firmly.

"Times have changed." Ethan said cynically. "Deaths in the family tend to change opinions rapidly."

"All too true." He held out a piece of paper to Lyra. "A letter from Elm and your family. Your family's location is enclosed." He looked back at Ethan. "I must be off. Wait until Elm sends word from Olivine to leave Goldenrod. I'll send word to the ranch when I've gotten you a meeting."

Ethan nodded, and opened the door for the professor. The professor produced a ball from one of his coat pockets and released a charizard that towered over him. He swung one leg over the beast's back and mounted it. "You've got hero's blood Ethan. You're bound for great things." He looked up at the sky and grinned. "You'll do your father proud." His charizard launched into the sky, leaving Ethan alone at the front door of his home.

* * *

Alan breathed in sharply, opening his eyes violently. He rolled over, expecting a jagged beak or bolt of lightning to strike him. A pair of hands grabbed at him, holding him to the bed. He screamed up at the man holding him and lashed out, trying to knock the man off of him.

A woman's voice screamed over his, drowning him out. "You're safe! Nobody's gonna hurt you!"

He relaxed, allowing the man to restrain him. "I'm calm. You can let go."

"Let him up Ian" the woman's voice said.

The giant man let go, hauling Alan to his feet. "Yes mother."

Alan stumbled, his knees buckling. He fell to one knee, holding the bed for support. "What happened? Where am I?" He asked.

"You're on Valencia Island." The woman said. "You washed up on shore last night. My name is Ivy, you're at my lab." A loud knock from outside the room drew her attention. She looked at the giant. "Ian, watch him." She turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Alan pushed himself back up and onto the bed. The giant looked down at him and held up one finger to his lips. "Shush!" He said. "Mother will keep us safe."

Alan looked up at him and remained silent. He raised an eyebrow and put his head back down on the pillow silently. Ian sat back on the floor, his head still even with Alan's. "Mother will keep us safe." He muttered.

"Who's knocking?" Alan asked.

"Bad men." Ian replied. "Mother will make them leave. Mother always makes them leave."

Alan heard a massive thud, and an angry roar that he'd only heard once before. Then he heard an explosion and all rational thought left him.

* * *

Jay stumbled out of the shadows, tripping over the bed that appeared in front of him. He heard Misty stumble out behind him and land on the bed heavily.

"My apologies for the shadow travel, it can be rough on those new to it." The man said apologetically. "However it will become second nature to you Mr. Gold."

Jay sat up, breathing heavily. "Gould, not Gold." He said. "Listen, I don't know-"

The man cut him off with a wave. "I understand you are confused. Please, it will be easier if you let me explain everything first."

Jay frowned and stayed silent. He looked at Misty, then back at the man. He sighed, and sat down on the bed beside Misty. "Ok, go. I'm listening."

The man smiled and sat down in the gnarled rocking chair behind him. "Where to begin…" He looked up at them and smiled a toothy grin. "Over a thousand years ago, in the land we now know as Kalos, there was a Kingdom that spanned the entire region. The King grew old, with no sons to replace him upon his death. The King's jealous brother raised an army and attempted to overthrow the King. The King lost battle after battle, losing thousands upon thousands of soldiers. Fearing that his reign was at an end, the King built a device that could channel and direct power from the afterlife. When his brother confronted the King for the final time, the King fired the device and destroyed his brother and his army.

So much death and destruction at once tore a hole in the fabric of reality. A spirit slipped through the tear, appearing as a massive black bird that smelled of rot and decay. The bird sought out the King, to thank him for freeing him from the afterlife. He offered the King eternal life, and complete mastery over death itself in exchange for his help in the bird's grisly work. The King accepted,taking his place as the black bird's rider. He became Death itself, ferrying souls across the void to the afterlife.

The King endured through the years, siring hundreds of children with his newfound youth. Eventually he grew tired of ruling and left his Kingdom, allowing it to descend into chaos while he slipped away on the black bird. The King terrorized the kingdom, earning his reputation as the Grim Reaper by stealing away souls and using them to fuel his own power. Another man rose to mend his broken kingdom, and aided by the deer of life he banished the King to the afterlife. He restored the lives destroyed by the King's reign, and brought peace to the region once more. His children inherited a fraction of his power, and they have ruled Kalos ever since.

As for the sons and daughters of the King, they also inherited some of their father's power. They were descendants of Death, and that gave them an unnatural mastery over death itself. The greatest of these descendants founded an Empire here, and set about to discover the limits of their mastery. However over the years, the blood of the King became diluted and weak. The Kikoku dynasty was nearly destroyed by a summoning gone wrong. The Grey Lady fell to the Dragon King, completing the fall of her dynasty. She met with the King in the afterlife, and convinced him to allow her to manipulate the world as she saw fit. She possessed one of the surviving members of her family, a young woman that had fled to Ecruteak when Lavender fell, and seduced a descendant of the Hero.

However the descendant of the Hero fell in battle with the dragon, and the woman fled Johto, hiding on a farm north of Viridian. She fell in love again, before you were born, and married a farmer. Your father as you knew him was not your father. Your father was Ethan Gold, the revolutionary, a descendant of the Hero himself. You are the son of life and death. You are the heir to the Kikoku dynasty. You are the last of a line that stretched back thousands of years. You have the power to become the most powerful man in history. And you are going to kill the Dragon King and take his place."

* * *

 _Well I've finally wrapped up the story arcs that I've been waiting to finish. It's time for that time skip I've been talking about. See you all two years into the future ;)_


	24. Two Years of War

_So... This took a while. That's what I get for buying Fire Emblem and thinking that I could still have time to write. I beat it though, so hopefully this means a return to regular chapters?_

* * *

 **Two years later**

Ethan swung his legs off the bed, unable to sleep. He walked over to the window, grabbing a paper off the desk beside his bed as he went. He sat himself on the window sill and unfolded the flimsy piece of paper.

"Rereading every report you can find isn't going to change them." Said a voice from the bed. "Come back to bed, my love."

Ethan looked over at the woman, a sorrowful look marring his features. "If I could sleep, then I would." He dropped the letter to his lap and looked back out the window. "It's this damn war. It hasn't even started yet and it's already affecting me. I've tried looking at it a thousand different ways. Lance won't be beaten until I can bring all of Johto against it. I can't even manage to gather half of Johto's strength against him."

The woman smiled serenely, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "You said you were making progress with Falkner. The last time you went, you said he laughed at your joke about Lance's hair."

Ethan smiled softly at the thought of the Emperor's ridiculous hairstyle. "The man doesn't understand how to use a brush. Open rebellion is something completely different than just laughing at him." He shook his head. "You're right. I'm worrying myself too much." He folded the letter and put it on the window sill beside him. "I hope Lee is having better luck than I am."

The woman in the bed laughed. "Somehow, she manages to be even more stubborn than you while still being as charming as ever. I'm sure she's got Charles and Jasmine eating out of the palm of her hand by now." She rolled the blanket off her, revealing herself to Ethan. "Stop thinking about the war for one night. Just come to bed, and for once spend the night as my husband."

Ethan smiled and sighed. "How could I ever refuse you?" He stood up, walking back over to his side of the bed.

"This time is not for talking, Lord Marshal." She said.

He dropped the letter back onto his desk and looked down at her. "Yes, Lady Whitney."

* * *

"Just let me do the talking, alright?"

Gary sighed and nodded. "Whatever Ash. Just get her to agree."

Ash smirked at him. "Relax, Erika's a stuck up princess, but she's not an idiot. She knows that Saffron has to go."

Gary shook his head. "She also knows that we need her. Watch her try to get us to take care of some problems for her."

"When have we ever met a problem we couldn't batter our way through?" Ash retorted with a grin.

Gary grinned back. "Well, between the two of us, and your murderous onix, there aren't many problems that can't be battered out of the way."

The doors swung open, putting an end to their conversation. A woman in a dark green kimono stepped out, her arms folded over her chest. "Lady Erika will see you now." She turned and disappeared back through the doors, Ash and Gary following her.

A woman wearing an elegant rainbow kimono sat in the throne at the end of the hall. She rose from her seat and dropped into a bow. "Well, the legends have arrived. Welcome Ketchum, Oak. So glad to have you finally visit my hall."

Ash smiled and returned her bow. "Lady Erika, so glad to finally visit Celadon's halls ourselves. It's more beautiful than anyone ever told us."

The woman smirked. "Flattery will get you far in this world, Lord Ketchum." She dropped her hand to the glass of wine beside her throne and raised it to her lips.

Ash smiled back sweetly. "Despite my position in the rebellion, I don't actually have any titles. Please, I prefer just Ash."

"Very well Ash, what brings you to my hall?" She drained her glass of wine and beckoned for one of her servants.

"Well," Ash started cautiously. "I believe that we have a mutual enemy." He nodded at her. "I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that Saffron's strategic position is invaluable, or that a population nearly as large as the rest of Kanto put together is under the control of a hostile organization." He nodded at her, confidence swelling. "Kanto needs this M'Lady. It needs to be unified. I need your help to do that."

Erika listened intently, studying Ash's every move. A servant appeared at her side, baring a large bottle of held out her glass, allowing the woman to fill it for her.

"When we move on Saffron, I expect to see Celadon's standards flying with our own."

Erika smiled down at the two rebels coyly. "Very well," she said. "I cannot risk an attack on Saffron, not while the Rockets have such an easy path into my backyard. Fuschian forces are pushing for control of Rainbow Bridge." She sighed and raised her glass to her lips, draining half of it in one mouthful. She lowered her glass, a wicked grin on her face. "I'd collapse the bridge, but it still could theoretically serve as a vital trade route."

Ash sighed. "So what were you planning?"

"Smash the garrison on their side. Make them fear Celadon's strength." She handed the half-empty glass of wine off to one of her servants, and rose from her throne. "I want you to draw Lord Koga Kurowasa back to his home, and I want you to kill him."

* * *

Alan lifted the crate of dried fruit off the cart, barely even grunting with the strain. He dropped it onto the pile of crates that was forming in front of the market stall. Ian dropped his own crate beside him, completing the pile. The gigantic man shook his head, shaking the shaggy blonde hair out of his face.

Alan looked up at the giant, smiling. "How you doing, big guy?"

"S' hot" Ian replied as he wiped the sweat off his brow. He looked over to where his mother stood arguing with the merchant behind the stall. "Mother is angry."

Alan turned, eying the man arguing with a slender woman. "She'll be ok, big guy." He looked away, smiling up at Ian. "She's a big girl, she can handle a little haggling."

Ian scrunched his features up, thinking hard. "Hag-ling?" He asked cautiously.

"Trying to get more money for the fruit." Alan said absentmindedly. "She's gonna trick that guy into paying more than he has to."

"Mother is angry." Ian said quietly. He looked back down at Alan, frowning at the smaller man. "I don't like when Mother is angry."

Alan nodded and held out a bottle of water to Ian. "Drink this, buddy. It's hot out here."

Ian swiped the bottle off Alan and tipped it towards the sky, downing the contents in a few massive gulps. He dropped the empty bottle onto their cart and sat down heavily.

"Come on, boys." Ivy said as she hoisted herself up into the cart's driver seat. She pulled a pair of pokeballs from the folds of her coat and released a massive kingler. "Saddle him up for me."

Alan patted Ian's leg with a grin. "I got this, big guy. Just relax." Ian nodded, shimmying along the cart to be closer to his mother. Alan grabbed the harness off the cart and walked around the cart to where the kingler sat. It lazily eyed him, clicking it's pincers threateningly. Alan held out the harness, showing the crab his intention. "Just like the last hundred times, right Cap?"

The kingler seemed to roll his eyes, and lowered his claws, allowing Alan to slip the harness over his body. "He still doesn't trust you, does he?" Ivy asked from her place atop the cart.

Alan pulled the last strap tight, and looked up at Ivy. "He's stopped trying to cut me in half when I'm putting the harness on, so I'd say that's an improvement."

The woman laughed, and tossed him another set of straps. "He's a two-hundred year old crustacean. It's amazing he learned to trust me, let alone Ian. He'll warm up to you!" She said cheerfully.

Alan attached the straps to the crab's harness, warily avoiding his claws. He turned back to Ivy and threw up a thumbs up. He ducked out of the way as the kingler yanked the cart forward. Alan grabbed the front of the cart as it rolled by, pulling himself up into the seat beside Ivy.

"When we get back, I'm gonna get Ian to feed Syrana. Feel like helping me with dinner?"

Alan nodded. "No problem, just let me wash off first." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow at her. "So how much did you con him out of today?"

Ivy smiled gently, checking over her shoulder to see if Ian was watching. She looked back at Alan and quickly mouthed "later."

Alan shifted uncomfortably, knowing that whatever was enough to make Ivy uncomfortable was enough to make him want to curl up and hide. The woman was certainly made of stronger stuff than he was. He let the ride pass in silence, waiting until Ian hopped off the back of the cart to go feed his mother's gyarados. He looked back at the woman beside her. "Ivy, what's going on?"

She checked over her shoulder for Ian, then looked back at Alan. "The Empire is coming to Valencia. They're coming for the rest of Orange."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"The merchant spends time at Mandarin Island when he's not here. It's crawling with imperial troops. Apparently Lance sent his own son to govern us."

"Mew help us." Alan said.

Ivy looked back at him with a grim look. "Don't go praying to your God yet. We've still got me, and I don't intend on being here when the Empire arrives." She paused, hesitant to continue. "You're the best worker we've ever had, and you're good with Ian too. If you weren't, then I wouldn't ask…"

"You want me to go with you?" Alan asked. He scratched the side of his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Because Ian trusts you. I'm not gonna destroy his entire life just because I don't want to live under the shadow of the Empire. You're everything to him, and I'm not gonna be the one to take that away."

"When do we leave?" Alan asked curtly, the soldier in him taking over. "How do our supplies look?"

Ivy smiled and shook her head. "I've got it all taken care of. We leave next week. Hope you've got a good set of sea legs on you." She said coyly. The cart ground to a halt in front of the house. She stood up, dropping the reigns to her side. "Go get Ian. I'm gonna get a start on dinner." She hopped off the cart and headed into the house, leaving Alan alone with an irritable kingler.

* * *

"Be the master." Said the bald old man. "Of you body, of your mind, and your soul." He placed a pebble on the table in front of him and stepped back." Let the shadows flow through you. Let them become a part of you, an extension of your body."

Jay exhaled and slowly extended a hand. A tendril of dark energy sprouted from the palm of his hand and wrapped themselves around the pebble on the table in front of him. He lifted his hand slowly, attempting to manipulate the shadows into lifting the pebble. The pebble remained motionless, slipping through the shadows with barely even a tremor.

Jay closed his hand, banishing the tendrils of darkness. He opened his eyes and shot Fuji a look of frustration. "I thought you said this would be easy." He said angrily.

"I said it would become easy. First you must struggle. It is the nature of the world." Fuji stretched out his own arm and extended a tendril of darkness towards the pebble. It enveloped the pebble, and lifted it off the table. "But in the end, those who master their own selves are the victors." The tendrils whipped towards Jay, flinging the pebble at his head.

Jay reacted instinctively, and threw up his arms to defend himself. His shadow exploded, black tendrils of energy springing forth from the darkness behind him and solidifying into a wall in front of him. The pebble effortlessly cut through the shadows and bounced harmlessly off Jay's forehead.

"Fuck."

Fuji stepped out from behind the wall Jay had conjured forth. "Excellent reaction." He waved his arm, banishing the wall of darkness back to the shadows. "With more experience, your efforts would have been successful." He looked out the window and frowned. "The sun sets." He looked back at Jay and regarded him with curiosity. "You have grown so much since you came here. You have learned nearly all I have to teach." He sighed and looked back out the window. "You have potential, Jason. That much is clear. It remains to be seen what you will do with it." Fuji broke into a smile, still not looking at Jay. "I will see you tomorrow, Jason."

Jay turned and sucked in a breath. He stepped into his own shadow and disappeared, leaving Fuji alone in his tower.

* * *

"You really can't just sit back and relax, can you?" Lyra said lazily. "You don't need to always be working."

Oak sat back on his knees, wiping the sweat off his brow. He grinned at her, still poking at the fire with a stick. "I'll stop working when there's no work to do."

Lyra cocked her head to the side, raising her eyebrow. "Why didn't you just get Blaze to do that?" She pushed herself up in her bedroll, sitting up. "We'd have a bonfire going in seconds."

"That's the problem, my dear." Oak said as he poked at the embers under the fire. "What happens if I am separated from Blaze? How would my fire get lit then?"

Lyra paused, hesitating. "I didn't think of that."

Oak smiled at her and put the stick down in the dirt beside him. "I know, my dear. That's why I'm here."

Their small camp fell into silence, only the crackling of the fire filling the air.

"Professor, tell me about your pokemon." Lyra blurted out. She hesitated awkwardly and gave Oak a weak smile. "I mean, could you please tell me about you pokemon? You know all about my pokemon."

Oak chuckled to himself. "It's fine, my dear." He resumed poking at the fire with the stick beside him. "Who would you like to know about?"

"Let's start with Blaze." Lyra said quickly. "Since you just mentioned him."

Oak smiled and looked over at Lyra. "He's been with me almost my whole life. My father gave him to me right after he hatched." Oak smiled softly to himself, fondly remembering times long passed. "He was so friendly when he was young. You wouldn't know it if you saw him now. "He nodded to himself. "He's a cranky old man now, but so am I." He grinned at Lyra again. "Guess that's what makes us such good company, right?"

"Two peas in a pod." Lyra remarked.

"Then there's Poseidon." Oak said.

"That's your blastoise, right?"

He nodded. "He was the biggest pest that I've ever seen. He was tormenting some poor farmers in Vermillion City. He's by far the most extravagant prankster I've ever met. If anything, he's become even more of a nuisance with age."

"Water types are like that." Lyra said.

"So I've seen." He said. "Cora still hasn't forgiven him for dousing her last year."

"Who's Cora?" Lyra asked. "I don't think I've met her."

"She's my little jolteon." He said. "She doesn't like to come out much, that's why you haven't met her."

"She's shy?" Lyra asked.

Oak shook his head. "No, she's just old. Jolteon regularly only live until they are maybe twenty, or twenty-five. Electric pokemon are constantly building up a charge. Eventually, the strain becomes too much for their body to handle, and it just shuts down. Theoretically, it could lead to the creature's power growing exponentially. In reality, the sheer amount of electricity burns out the brain if they let it off too quickly?"

"How old is Cora?" Lyra asked.

Oak grimaced.

"It's ok, you don't need to tell me."

Oak shook his head. "No it's fine. I just never get used to it." He sighed, allowing the smile to return to his face. "She's forty-seven."

"She's almost doubled her life expectancy?"

Oak nodded. "It's a blessing and a curse. Knowing that she doesn't have much time left is torture, but seeing her hold on to stay with me warms my heart."

Lyra crossed her arms uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

Oak nodded. "Look at it like a miracle." He said. "I do, and it helps take my mind off it." He tapped one of the balls on his belt absentmindedly. "Then there was Kensei, my scyther. He died during Lance's revolution. He was the most fearless fighter I've ever seen." The thought of his old pokemon brought a grin to his face. "One time, one of Lance's dragons went berserk and started attacking everything in sight. Without waiting for an order from me, Kensei brought that dragon down to its knees and bought Lance enough time to reason with the beast."

"I always forget that you fought with Lance before he became Emperor." Lyra said.

Oak frowned. "It was the best time of my life." His features seemed to sink as he slouched back. "You know, he wasn't always a madman." Oak looked away, gazing out into the trees. "He was the gold standard, what everyone wanted to be. He was a friend to every single person who fought for him. We were a family, and he brought us together." Oak's hand came up to his head, ad he started to massage his temples.

Lyra took the hint. She smiled at Oak, trying to be as soothing as possible. "You can tell me about it some other time." She said. "I'll take first watch. You just try to sleep."

Oak nodded weakly, not even bothering to argue. He rolled over in his bedroll, and within minutes was snoring soundly. Lyra shimmied forward, attempting to warm herself with the small fire. She pulled one of the balls from her pack and tapped the button.

A towering ursaring appeared, forming out of the red flash. It sniffed eagerly, taking in the crisp smell of the forest's night air. It dropped to all fours, shaking the ground where Lyra sat.

"Koda?" Lyra said cautiously. Her hand brushed the trio of other balls that sat in her pack, wary of the giant pokemon. He might've been her pokemon, but it wouldn't be the first time he fancied himself as King of the Forest.

Koda the ursaring plopped himself down on the dirt right behind Lyra, content with not being a king for another night. In seconds, he was sound asleep. Lyra moved closer to her pokemon, happy to be warm in his fur.

"Thank you Koda."

Koda just snored.

* * *

 _As always, thank you for reading and please leave me a review. I love them!_


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